


Unconditionally

by KMOR



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Best Friends, Cancer, Depressed Hinata Shouyou, Emotional, Emotional Roller Coaster, Grey, Haikyuu - Freeform, I Made Myself Cry, I Tried, Karasuno, Nekoma, OC, Original Character(s), Ribbons, Sad Ending, Sad Story, Sick Hinata Shouyou, Volleyball, Wheelchairs, grey ribbon, positive Kageyama, you will cry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:07:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 34
Words: 34,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29008764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KMOR/pseuds/KMOR
Summary: Kageyama and Hinata weren't the best of friends at first. From becoming enemies in middle school to teammates in high school, they had to learn to work together.The karasuno boys volleyball club was the place were they grew their talents and relied on one another.Before they knew it they knew what the other would do at any moment, but secrets can have a deadly blow and once somethings lost, it can never come back.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first fanfic that I write. I hope you guys enjoy it
> 
> I also have a Wattpad account where this story is also at!

"Bring it here!" A bubbly, loud ginger head boy yelled to his teammate. The small 162.8 cm (5 foot 3 inches) boy jumped to the summit of the net. Face over it looking for the best spot to spike the ball to. 

The raven hair setter sent the ginger the quick attack that only the two could pull off flawlessly. The ball flashed through the air and reached the ginger's hand perfectly like magic. 

A loud smack could be heard as his hand connected with the ball, smashing it down to the other side of the court. 

"That's game!" Daichi, the team captain, yelled as the ginger seemed to fall back to the floor in slow motion. 

"That was a nice spike Hinata!" Noya, the guardian of the team, congratulated the ginger. 

"Thanks Noya, but I couldn't do anything without Kageyama," Hinata told the boy running over to his setter. 

"Dummy, I told you you could jump even higher then what your already doing," Kageyama huffed annoyed. 

"You always find a way to turn a good thing into a bad thing," Hinata pouted to his friend. 

"That's practiced for the day. Clean up and go home. The gym is going to be under refurbishment tomorrow, so no practice. We are also going to be traveling to Japan Wednesday which is in 2 days, so be prepared for that," Daichi yelled to his teammates. 

"Yes sir!" The whole team said. 

Both the A team and B team of Karasuno's boys volleyball club collected the net and volleyball from the days practice and put it away in the storage room. 

"Kageyama, I bet I could sweep the floors faster than you," Hinata dared. 

"You're on." The two boys always found themselves competing against one another for better or worse. 

They ran up and down the court leaving the rest of the team watching their silly attempt of cleaning. 

"Those two are going to be the death of me." Daichi sighed. 

The team laughed. No matter how much the team made fun of the two, they needed them just like they needed air. 

The team is good but the whole team knew that it was because of the famous Karasuno 1st year duo was the secret to majority of their winnings. 

The two finally finished poorly sweeping the floors about 2 minutes after they started. 

"Ha! I won. In you face!" Hinata cheered. 

Kageyama ignored his cheers. 

"You two don't overwork yourselves. We need you two. Don't go and hurt yourselves now." Daichi told the two before locking the gym once everyone got out. 

Daichi knew that they would be safe but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. He had a gut feeling and usually his gut feelings where never wrong. 

Hinata grabbed his bike from the bike rack and hopped on. 

"Hinata is your mom working late again?" Kageyama asked his friend walking along side him while Hinata was riding his bike. 

"Yeah. Me and the little sis are going to be together all night." 

"Want me to come over?" Hinata's eyes lit up. He loved the company of his best friend. 

The two never acted like they were close friends but they had a strong relationship that could never be broken. 

"Of course! We can practice in my back yard. It's kinda small but we can hit the ball back and forth."

"I'll meet you at your house in about a hour." Kageyama said. 

"Go home already!" Daichi yelled. "I want to go home but I have to make sure everyone leaves first."

The didn't realize that they both stopped while taking to one another. 

Hinata and Kageyama laughed at their captains words. Nothing was truly funny but they would still laugh. 

"Bye!" Hinata said and then pedaled off on his bike. There were no buses for the school and the students would walk or bike to get to there. 

Hinata lives far from the school but he didn't care. He chose to go to that school because his idol went there as well. The tiny giant was the person he looked up to and could one day be. 

Biking to and from school helped him build up his stamina and energy. These helped him move nonstop on the court being the best decoy there was. 

Volleyball was a part of all the boys life and shaped them to be who they were. It built the friendships of unusual people but it brought them together and that's all they worried about.


	2. Chapter 2

"Up and down the hills where ever I shall go." Hinata sung to himself. He sang his small song all the way to home.

The sun was already setting by the time he got home to his little sister. 

"Shoyo!" His little sister Natsu screamed at him as he walked through the front door. 

"Natsu. Not so loud. I'm right here," he laughed. He left his bike out side the house to use for the next day. 

"Kageyama is coming over in a hour or so Natsu." He said rubbing her same ginger hair. 

"Don't mess with my hair," she pouted. "And yay, Kageyama!" His little sister always enjoyed the setter coming over. 

Hinata laughed at his little sisters quick switch in her emotions. His face then went blank. He tensed up in pain. 

"Is it your head again?" Natsu asked her big brother. 

"Yea, it is." Hinata made his way to the medicine cabinet and pulled out something to get rid of the headache. 

"That's been going on for a while now. You should tell mommy about it," she said. His headaches have been happening for a couple months but they got worse over time. 

"No, Natsu. She already works to much just to support the family." Hinata snapped at her. Their mother worked non-stop to afford the kids school tuition and extra curricular activities. She also had to pay for the bills and everything else. 

"I just don't want you to go away like daddy did." Their father passed away from a brain tumor when Natsu was only 3. She was now 7. 

"I'll be fine Natsu. I promise." Hinata smiled to his little sister. 

The medicine seemed to be working cause his headache was dulled. 

"I'm going to make dinner. Any suggestions?" 

"Soba!" She screamed. 

"Coming right up!" 

Hinata wasn't the best cook but learned to make a few things for times like this. For being only 16 he's like a parent to his little sister. 

Sometimes Hinata felt guilty for playing volleyball. The money used on that could be used to help the family. 

Once, Hinata wanted to quit his love to help the family but his mother didn't let him. She told him to enjoy his high school years because he only got one in life. 

His little sister learned to take of herself but she wasn't allowed to use the stove. She was too short and young to be using a stove on her own. 

"Something smells good in here," another male voice said. 

"Kageyama!" Natsu yelled. The small girl ran to the raven hair boy and gave him a hug. 

"You got here quick." Hinata said still cooking the soba. 

"I sure did."

Kageyama played with Natsu as Hinata finished cooking the meal for the three of them. 

"It's ready!" Hinata served them each a plate and filled 3 glasses of water. 

"This smells delicious Shoyo." His little sister said. 

"Thank you for the meal!" They all said before digging in to their food. 

Hinata and Kageyama talked about school and how the struggle in certain subjects. 

Kageyama was considered a genius and Hinata was a natural talent when it came to the sport they both loved with a deep passion, but they were both pretty dumb when it came to academics. 

"Want to go outside and hit it back and forth after we eat?" Hinata asked his friend. 

"Why not."

"What about me Shoyo?" His little sister whined. 

"You can play with the ball I gave you." 

"But I wanted to play with you two." 

"She can play with us for a little bit Hinata." 

"Okay. Whatever." The ginger said finishing his food. 

"Me and Natsu are going to clean up since you cooked. Right Natsu?" The raven hair boy said. 

Natsu made an agreeing meaning noise. She smiled brightly to the raven hair boy. 

"Thanks guys. I'll go get the ball, it's in my room." Hinata got up from sitting and started to walk to his room. 

He opened the door and walked into his small room. 

He grabbed the volleyball off his desk and made his way back to his door. 

The pounding in his head returned. It was harsh and painful. Hinata didn't want to worry his friend and sister so he kept quiet. 

He grunted in pain and made his way to the medicine cabinet in his bathroom. 

He quickly pulled out something to pull the headache with and took the medicine. 

The pounding in his head didn't stop but it was manageable at the time. 

"Hey dummy, did you get the ball yet?" Yelled Kageyama. 

"Yeah just wanted to wash my hands pretty quickly." Hinata lied. 

He walked out the bathroom with the ball in hand with his usual smile on his face. 

"Now let's go practice!"


	3. Chapter 3

The night passed by quickly while to two played. Kageyama had decided to sleep over because it was to late at night to walk back home. 

The next day, Hinata and Kageyama and dropped Natsu off at her elementary school and made their way towards Karasuno. The took their time walking and biking. 

"Kenma is going to be so shocked that we be him tomorrow!" Hinata said making fun of his friend who lived in Japan. 

"I don't like him in the first place," Kageyama said kicking a rock off the road. 

"You don't like him just because he's a setter." Hinata joked. 

"Not true!"

"Sure, whatever you say."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"I don't know was it?" Hinata joked. 

"You have 3 seconds to start pedaling before I kick your..." Hinata didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. 

He pedaled as fast as he could to the high school. It took him 2 minutes before he reached the front gates of their school. 

"Didn't realize I went that fast." He told himself. He stayed on the outside of the gate to wait for his poor friend who he left behind. 

"So far, no headaches today." He said to himself.

He pulled out his phone and started to text Kenma smack talk about their practice game tomorrow. 

Kenma was a shy and introverted individual. Everyone on Karasuno and Nekoma couldn't understand how a extremely extrovert can be such good friends with the introvert. 

About 10 minutes passed before a out of breath Kageyama ran up. 

"How dare you leave me," he said tiredly. 

"You threatened me!" Hinata replied. 

"I always do but I never follow through." 

"Oh, yeah. Oops," Hinata laughed at his friend. 

The morning bells went off indicating it was time to start class. 

"Crap!" They both said. Hinata pedaled his bike to the bike rack and Kageyama ran to his first class. 

Their day would go as normal but without volleyball practice that afternoon.

———time skip. 

"KAGEYAMA!" The ginger hair boy yelled to his friend walking out the school building. 

"Shut it nerd. You don't have to be so loud," he said rubbing Hinata's hair. 

Hinata's headaches didn't hit him today and he was thankful for that. 'Maybe that whole think is over with' he thought to himself. 

"I'm going pick up Natsu now," Hinata said grabbing his bike off the rack. 

"I'll see you tomorrow then." 

"See ya!" Hinata got on his bike and started to pedal away from the school. 

He started to sing his little tune as he road to pick up his little sister. 

——-

"Good afternoon Hinata. I'll go get Natsu." The lady at the front desk said to Hinata. 

He stood at the front desk fidgeting with his fingers. 

"SHOYO!" He heard a high pitch voice say. 

The little girl ran up to him and hugged his legs. 

"Hey Natsu," he pat his hand on her head. 

"Mr. young Hinata, May I have a word with you?" The lady asked. 

"Stay here Natsu. I'll be right back," he told his sister. 

"Okay!"

He walked with the lady into the hall. No one was around and it was just them two. 

"I'm Natsu's teacher and she told me about your headaches." She said. 

Hinata held his breath. 'Thanks for keeping my secret Natsu,' he mentality said. 

"Anyway, I just hope you are feeling better soon, but you should go get it checked out. Better to be safe than sorry," she said.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for the advice," he said. He wasn't going to go to the doctor. He was fine. They were just annoying headaches that would get painful ever so often. Nothing he couldn't handle. 

Hinata walked back to his sister who was reading a small book. 

"Ready Natsu?" He asked. 

Natsu quickly put the book back in her bag and jumped up. "Ready!" She smiled. 

"I'll see you tomorrow Natsu!" The teacher said. 

"Bye!" She yelled back. 

Hinata and his sister walked out the building together. 

Hinata grabbed his bike and walked it with his sister all the way back to the house. 

Natsu babbled about her day and everything that happened during her day at school. Hinata listened to his little sister as she talked. 

"Shoyo, do you have a practice match tomorrow?" Natsu asked her brother. 

"Sure do. We are going to Japan and playing against Nekoma."

"You'll get to see what's his name again!" she smiled trying to name her brother's friend. 

"You mean Kenma," he corrected her. 

"Yes him!" She laughed. 

The got back to there home where a familiar white car stood. 

"Moms home?" He said in a form of a question. 

He put his bike down at the front of the house and the two walked inside. 

"Mommy? Your home?" Natsu squeaked. 

The woman in the house turned to face the two children. 

Her hair was pulled back but very thin. The dark circles under her eyes where noticeable. She had a cup of coffee in her hand to help her keep awake. 

"Hey Shoyo and Natsu. I'm only going to be home for a minutes. I had a hour break in between jobs so I came here." She said to her children. 

"Let's get started on out homework Natsu," Hinata said to his sister. 

They sat down at the table and stated to do their homework together and like their mother had said a few minutes later she was gone again going to the next job. 

"Mom looks tired," Natsu said while coloring a picture. 

"Yeah, she does," Hinata mumbled trying to do difficult math questions. 

The two siblings had a normal night with Hinata cooking and cleaning while caring for his sister. 

When he went to bed he couldn't shake the fact that he didn't have a headache that day. He feel asleep with a smile on his face thinking the pain was finally over. 

But tomorrow was a new day.


	4. Chapter 4

Hinata woke up to the sound of his alarm. The beeping of his phone seemed to echo in his head. The pounding in his head felt like a drum being by hit over and over again. 

"No. Not today," he said sitting up bringing his hand to his head. He turned off his alarm but he could still hear the sound of the beeping. He stood up from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. 

He jumped in the shower and let the warm water run on his head. He stood there till the water got cold. 

"Sorry mom," he mumbled turning off the water. He knew that running the water so long would make the water bill be higher. 

The pounding was still there and he took headache medicine out of the cabinet. He took two and sallowed them. 

'I need to get ready.' He thought to himself. He walked back into his room and say the time. 5:30 am. He needed to be at school by 6:45. 

He put on his shorts and white shirt with black team jacket. The jacket made him feel safe in a way. He felt protected. 

He quickly fixed his hair making sure he didn't have bed hair still. He then walked to the kitchen and made two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

He walked to his little sister's room and opened the door. 

The small child was hugging a stuffed bear with a yellow bow. Hinata smiled at his sister. 

"Natsu. It's time to wake up," he said putting a hand on her shoulder. 

She slowly opened her eyes. "But it's so early," she complained. 

"I have to be at school early Natsu. I made breakfast already and I raked to our neighbor and they said it was okay that you went over since I have to leave so early," he said. 

The little girl got up from her bed and made her way to the dining room. Hinata laughed as she accidentally walked into the wall near her door. 

He made his way to the dining room as well and they both ate their breakfast. 

"Go get you bag ready for school," he told his sister. 

He walked to his room to grab his volleyball bag. He then walked to the medicine cabinet and grabbed the headache medicine. 

"Just in case," he said putting the bottle in his bag. 

"I'm ready Shoyo," the little girl said standing in the door way to her brothers room. 

"Okay. Let's go." 

The two walked outside and to their neighbor. 

Hinata thanked them for watching Natsu and made his way to school in his bike. 

The pounding in his head was still there and he even had to stop a few times to take a breather. 

"I just have to make it through today" he said pedaling off to the school. 

————-

"Morning," the team captain said as Hinata got to the school. 

"Morning, sorry I'm a little late. Had to take care of my sister," he half lied. Hinata took many breaks to keep the pounding in his head from getting bad. 

"Don't worry. Kageyama is still not here." Suga said packing up the bus. 

"What about me?" The raven hair boy said. 

"There you are. Let's go now. You guys know how long of a ride it is there." Daichi said. 

The boys got on the bus to their seats. 

"That's everyone coach," Daichi said to the coach. 

"Alight. Here we go," he said starting up the bus. 

Almost all of the boys feel back to sleep during the ride but Hinata could go back to sleep. 

The pain in his head was getting worse and worse. 

He tried to close his eyes to drown up the pain. 

———-

Hinata woke up to someone shaking him. His eyes fluttered opened to reveal the black hair boy next to him. 

Hinata was shocked that he managed to fall asleep with the pain in his head still. 

"Dummy, we are almost there," Kageyama said to him. 

"Okay. Thanks for waking me up and don't call me a dummy," he laughed. 

"Whatever," he paused. "Dummy." Hinata stuck his tongue out at his friend.

Kageyama laughed and then walked out the bus leaving Hinata. 

As Kageyama walked out Hinata quickly dug into his bag and pulled out the bottle of headache medicine. I quickly took 2 out and swallowed them. 

He put the bottle back in his back and got off the bus. 

He got off the bus and was met with his friend from Nekoma. "KENMA!" Hinata shouted running to his two toned hair friend. 

The strands of hair covered Kenna's face creating a shield from the world. 

He looked up from his game and saw the bubbly ginger running to him. "Hey Shoyo," he quietly said. 

The two were talking and catching up while the captains of both teams discussed what would be happening during the practice match. 

"Everyone, time to go to the gym and change!" Both captains yelled. 

Everyone moved and went to each a locker room and changed into there practice clothes. 

Everyone was making small talk as the changed but Hinata couldn't focus on any of the conversations. He was oddly quiet but no one seemed to notice this. 

No one except Kageyama.


	5. Chapter 5

Both teams got out of the locker rooms and began their warmups. 

They all stretched and got ready for the match. Both teams were extremely competitive and even though this was practice, they all aimed to win. 

Once everyone finished warming up, each team lined up on their side of the court. 

"This is the Cats vs Crows game. Remember this is practice but also have fun!" The referee of the game, Karasuno's coach said. 

"Thank you for the game," the whole gym said as they bowed to their opponents. 

Hinata was getting light headed. He was getting dizzy easily. 

"Hinata are you okay?" Kageyama asked. Kageyama barely called his friend by his name but when he did it was when he was being serious. 

The ginger looked at his friend. "Of course I am. We get to play volleyball!" He smiled. 

Kageyama observed his friend. He noticed he was looking pale. Before he could say anything he was getting yelled at by his captain. 

"Kageyama. Go to your position we are starting!" 

"Yes sir, sorry," he ran to his spot near Hinata and the whistle sounded indicating the start of the practice match. 

——

"Nice one Kenma!" The team captain of Nekoma , Kuro, said to the shy boy. 

The score was 20-23 with Karasuno in the lead. Hinata played like normal. He would focus on the game and jumping to his highest point. 

"I'll get it next time!" The ginger hair boy told himself. 

"You better!" Kageyama said to him. 

Hinata stuck his tongue out at the black hair boy. 

The whistle blew and the next volley started. 

The game was fast pace and you could easily get lost watching the game. 

The ball went back and forth until it fell on Nekoma's side of the court. 

"Yay!" The Karasuno boys cheered. The score was now 20-24, set point. 

"Kageyama, your up to serve," Daichi yelled. 

The boy walked to the end of the court and began to do his pre serve routine. 

Hinata was facing the net with his hands protecting the back of his head in case the ball would hit him. 

Hinata trusted his best friend's serve but every serve was a deadly blow and could easily hurt someone. 

Hinata shook the image of him getting hit out of his head but his vision became blurry. 

The sound of the whistle was dull and the sound of Kageyama's hand connecting to the ball didn't seem to have a sound. 

The ball crashed to the other side of the court having Karasuno win the set with an ace. 

As the cheers of Karasuno's boys team echoed through the gym, Hinata felt the world crushing him and fell to the ground. 

"Hinata!/Shoyo!" Everyone said as they saw the bunny boy crumble to the floor. 

The two captains ran to Hinata. 

The coaches started to call for an ambulance. 

Hinata started to shake violently. 

"He's having a seizure." Kuro said. 

Most of the boys stood back not knowing what to do. 

Most of them started to cry, panicking for the safety of the volleyball player. 

No body knew what to do. 

The coaches ran to help the two captains. 

Hinata had stopped shaking. 

Daichi started to measure his pulse and Kuro checked his breathing. 

"There's a heartbeat but it's faint." 

"His breathing is shallow. Like he's in pain." Kageyama could stand to see his best friend in such a way. 

"Kageyama, call his parents." Daichi said. 

"Y-yeah," he pulled out his phone and found Hinata's mother name. 

He quickly pressed her name and pulled the phone to his ear. 

He listened to the ringing until he heard a woman say "hello?"

"Mrs. Hinata. It's Kageyama." His voice was shaky and tears were started to fall down his face. 

"Sweetie what's wrong? I hear it in your voice."

"I-it's Shoyo. He collapsed. He started shaking. He barely has a heart beat. I-I'm scared." The whole team looked to Kageyama. 

He never admitted to his true feelings before. 

"Shoyo. Not him too," she said. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Text me what hospital he gets taken too. I have to go pick up Natsu. I'll meet you at the hospital," the phone line disconnected. 

Kageyama pulled the phone away from his ear. 

The sirens could be heard. The managers ran outside to guide them to where Hinata was. 

"Coach, you and Kageyama ride with Hinata in the ambulance. Everyone else to the bus." Daichi told the team. 

"Keep us updated Daichi." Kuro said still trying to care for the ginger. 

The paramedics pulled in and saw the boy on the ground. 

Everyone moved out their way as they loaded Hinata into the vehicle. 

The coach and Kageyama hopped into the back and explained everything that happened to the paramedics as they treated Hinata as best as they could from the back of the vehicle. 

Trailing the ambulance was the bus full of the Karasuno boys. 

'Hinata. Please. Be okay,' everyone was thinking.


	6. Chapter 6

2 hours later

Hinata fluttered his eyes open. He was in pain. He opened his eyes fully and saw that he was not in the gym. 

"What happened?" He mumbled. 

"Shoyo, your awake!" His mother said hugging her son. 

"Mom, where am I?" 

"You're at the hospital closest to Nekoma," Kageyama said. 

Hinata look at him sitting in the chair in the hospital room. 

"What happened?" He asked wanting to rub his head to release some pain. 

His mother quickly grabbed his hand making sure not to accidentally take out the IV. 

"During your practice match you feel unconscious and according to Kageyama you started to have a seizure." His mother started to have tears forming out of the corner of her eyes. 

"Mom I...". Hinata knew why she was crying. 

"Kageyama can you go get everyone else. I'll get a doctor here to tell them he's awake."

"Yes ma'am." The two left leaving Hinata alone. 

His thoughts were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He tried to think that it was just migraines but his thoughts kept going back to his father. 

He remembered slightly how he died. It started with headaches. Hinata's eyes widened has he compared the situation. 

He started to panic. His breathing started to quicken. 

He didn't hear the door open and the rest of the boys volleyball team walking in. Kageyama heard and say his friend starting to panic and he ran to his side. 

"Hinata. Calm your breathing. We are right here." 

Hinata looked Kageyama in the eye. "I..don't...want to...die...like him," he said. Small streaks of tears started to flow down his eyes. 

"Kageyama, what is he talki by about?" Daichi asked. Natsu was put on the floor by Suga and she ran to her brother. 

"Natsu," Kagyema helped Natsu onto the bed and Hinata gave her a big hug. 

The door opened once again and walked in the doctor and Hinata's mom. 

"Wow, you seem very popular, Shoyo Hinata," the doctor laughed. 

"Mom, I'm scared," Hinata said still holding on to his sister. 

"I know baby. I know."

"Well I'm just going to get to the point then. How long have you been having headaches?" The doctor said. 

Hinata kept quiet. If he said the truth then he would be yelled at for not saying anything sooner. 

"A couple months." Natsu spoke up. 

"What?" Hinata's mom said. 

"He started complaining a couple months ago but always played it off. He kept saying he was ok and it was just stress."

"Natsu!" Hinata said. 

"Shoyo, why didn't you say anything?" his mother asked. 

"I'm sorry but I need to know if there had been any medical issues in the past," the doctor said. 

"My husband, Shoyo's father had a brain tumor, but he passed away because of it a couple years ago."

The whole team looked at his mother with disbelief. "What?!" They all said oddly at the same time. 

"Hinata, why didn't you tell us?" Suga asked. 

"Because it wasn't needed to be said," he replied. 

The team signed knowing he was right.

"Shoyo, you were unconscious for 2 hours but know that your awake we can probably do the required tests to figure out was truly wrong. Your sister and teammates here told me what has been going on at home and at your practice today," the doctor paused. "I'm going to schedule a MRI for you tomorrow morning. I'll come in to do blood work later. Take this time with you family and friends. Visiting hours are ending soon."

With that the doctor left. 

"Shoyo, why didn't you say anything about the headaches?" His mother asked. 

"It would cost to much to come here. I know your still paying off dads hospital bills and your struggling with money but I see now that it wasn't worth it." He replied. 

"Shoyo, I would work 100 jobs if I had to. It would have been okay. We would have found the money somehow."

The rest of the team felt out of place being there but Hinata was like family to them. 

"I'll go call Nekoma and give them an update. They have been worried sick about you Hinata." Daichi said. "And Mrs. Hinata."

"Just call me mom," she told him. "It'll make this easier."

"Okay then, Mom we will help out. We can hold fundraisers and sorts but Hinata here is like family and we want to help out has much as we can."

Hinata's mother was speechless. She didn't know how to reply. "Daichi. I-thank you," was all she said. 

Daichi let off a soft smile and walked out the room and called Kuroo and give an update on Hinata. 

A hour passed and visiting hours were now over. "Boys. It's time to go. Your parents are going to Jill me that we are going to get back so late." The coach said. 

The whole team laughed. Even Hinata who was still in the hospital bed forbidden to get up according to his sister. 

"Keep us informed okay Hinata. Your still in the Nekoma area so we can't really travel back and forth to much." Daichi said. 

"Okay. See you guys later," he said waving to his friends. 

Before Kageyama walked out out with the rest of the team he turned to his friend, "just don't keep secrets like that anymore. They scare me." With that he waked out just leaving Hinata's mom and sister with Hinata. 

"He's so over protective," sighed Hinata. 

"But he's right Shoyo. Secrets aren't good sometimes." His mother scolded. 

"Ugh," he said flopping onto the bed. 

A small knock came from the door and the doctor walked in. "I'm sorry Mrs. Hinata but visiting hours are now over. You can come back in the morning if you would like." He said. 

"Okay. I understand. Natsu say bye to Shoyo. We will be able to see him tomorrow." She said going to the child to pick her up. 

"Bye Shoyo!" The small child said. 

"Shoyo call your friend Kenma if you need anything. I'm going to try to convince your grandparents for us to stay there while you are here."

"Okay. Bye mom. Bye Natsu."

They waked out and left the doctor with Shoyo. 

"Time for the boring stuff now. Blood work!" He tried to say excitedly. 

"Yay," Hinata sarcastically replied. 

They made small talk as the doctor collected what he needed. Your dinner is going to be coming in a little while just chill out and find something on the tv to watch and if you need anything press the button near the bed. A nurse will come by every now and then to check on you since your so young," the doctor explained. 

"Okay," he mumbled. 

"I'll see you later Shoyo."

"See ya doctor..."

"Nick"

"See you Dr. Nick." He smiled as he walked out the room. 

"Guess I'll watch some tv," he told to himself. He grabbed the tv remote and put it on a random channel. 

"This is going to be a long night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no knowledge of what they do in hospitals towards patients so I'm basically guessing base on what I've seen in movies. Don't judge me. 
> 
> I have no clue what goes on in hospitals and that is not going to be my career choice.


	7. Chapter 7

The night went by surprisingly quick. Hinata was being woke up by the sun shining through the large window in the room.

Hinata grabbed his phone off the rolling table that his food usually went on. 

He unlocked his phone and went to the FaceTime app. "I wonder if Nekoma is practicing right now?" He asked himself.

It then clicked that today was Thursday and that they were in class most likely. He didn't want to disturb his friend during class. 

When he went to put his phone down, it started to ring. He saw the name Kenma appear. He answered it. 

"Hey Kenma!" Hinata said with his usual smile. 

"Hey Shoyo. Kuro wanted me to call to check on you even though I would have anyway."

"They did some blood work last night but I still have no clue what's wrong with me," he slightly laughed. He could shake the thought of his father from his mind. 

The camera then shifted and showed Kuro. 

"Hey Kuro. What's up?" Hinata said. 

"When are visiting hours? Dk you know?" Hinata thought about when his mom and sister left. 

"My mom and sister left around 6:00 last night I think. Not sure when they start, but the doctor said that they can come in the morning." 

"We can shorten practice and go see him after Kuro," Hinata heard Kenma mumble. 

"Good idea! We'll head over around 4:00 or 5:00." 

"That should work!" 

The door to the hospital room opened and a nurse walked in with Hinata's breakfast. 

"Good morning!" Hinata said to the nurse. 

"Sorry to disrupt your phone call but I'm here to bring you your breakfast. Dr. Nick also wanted me to let you know that your MRI is scheduled for 9:00 this morning." She gave a small bow and left the food on the table and walked out. 

"Don't you guys have class?" Hinata asked as he moved the table so that it was over his lap. 

"Crap! Kenma, we're late."

"I know." He said softly. 

"Then why didn't you say anything!!"

"Cause I'm playing a new video game." 

"That's it. I'm taking you game system away."

"Do that and you'll be joining Hinata in the hospital. Also can I have my phone back." 

Hinata laughed at Kenma and Kuro. 

"See ya Hinata." Kuro said giving Kenma back his phone. 

"Bye Sho." 

"See ya Kenma and Kuro." 

The camera then shut off signaling the end of the call. 

'Now to the food. ' Hinata said putting down his phone. 

"Thank you for the meal," he said before eating. 

Time skip

It was now 8:50 am. Hinata was watching a comedy movie on the tv to pass by the time. 

He laughed at the funny parts and even and nurses come in to see if you was okay from laughing so much. 

That only resulted him in laughing even more but the all got the hint after they say what was playing in the tv. 

A knock sounded at the door and waked in Dr. Nick and a nurse with a wheelchair. 

"Morning Shoyo. How are you this morning?" The doctor asked. 

"I'm feeling pretty good. Have a headache but it's not to severe."

"How severe on a scale 1-10"

"Probably a 2 or 3" Hinata replied.

"That's good to hear. So your ready for your MRI?" He asked with a smile. 

"You make it sound like something good," Hinata sighed. 

"That's because this will truly say if anything is happening in your head." 

"Got ya." 

Dr. Nick went to the IV that was connected to Hinata and disconnected him from the stationary pole. Hinata then pushed the covers off of him with his free unwired hand. 

He cringed looking at the hospital gown he was in. 

"Shoyo can you try to get out the bed on your own and into the wheelchair?" Dr. Nick asked. 

"Yea I can try," he replied. He was able to swing his legs off the bed. 

He went to slide off the bed like he does normally but when his bare foot hit the cold floor he noticed that he had to apply more strength to be able to stand up. 

"What's wrong, Shoyo?" The doctor asked. 

Hinata looked up from the floor and to the doctor. "My legs feel weak but I'm still able to stand. I think."

He then put both feet on the ground. The doctor was right next to him in case something would happen. 

Hinata gripped the hard plastic part of the bed. He stood up strait like normal. He slowly let go of the bed and was now standing on his own. 

"Very good. Now walk over to the wheelchair." Dr. Nick said. The nurse was standing there next to the chair. 

Hinata went to take a step but he felt his knees buckle. 

The doctor quickly caught Hinata before he hit the ground. 

"What the." Hinata said shockingly. 

"Use me has a crutch." The doctor told him. 

Hinata stood back up with the hep of the doctor and used him to walk. 

Hinata knew he was putting a lot of weight on the doctor to be able to walk. 

The doctor gave a gesture to the nurse and she wheeled the chair closer to Hinata and the placed him in it. 

"How? I was able to walk and jump perfectly fine yesterday." Hinata was still in a state of shock from the fall. 

The nurse started to push the chair out the room and into the hall.

The doctor tried talking to Hinata to get the thought out of his bed but it didn't seem to work. 

They got to the MRI room and they helped Hinata into the bed looking part. They set up what they need to and started the machine sending Hinata in. 

"Just relax. It'll go by quick." He heard as he was put in the machine.


	8. Chapter 8

After the MRI, Hinata was wheeled back into his hospital room. His head was started to ache more so he told the doctor and nurse before they left him. 

Hinata played on his phone and started to watch tv as time past. 

Time seemed to go on forever. Hinata wished he could go and play volleyball but knew that he was stuck in the bed in that room. 

Around noon his lunch was brought to him. 

He ate his lunch in silence. 

After lunch he flipped through the endless amount of channels on the tv and decided to stop it on some travel channel. 

He noticed the beautiful flowers and beaches stretching for what seemed like miles. Hawaii seemed beautiful. Hinata closed his eyes and imagined him and the rest of the team at the beach throwing sand and water at each other. 

He smiled at the thought. 

He must have fallen asleep because a soft knock from the door had awoken the ginger from his dreams. 

"Is this the Hinata's resistance?" A tall man with spiked jet black hair asked. 

"Kuroo. That's not funny," a softer voice said. 

"Hey, Kuroo and Kenma," Hinata smiled. 

"Sorry if we woke you up," Kuroo apologized. 

"No. It's fine. It's so boring here and it's only been 1 day." Hinata complained. 

The two boys waked in fully. Kenma went to the chair in the room and pulled out his game. 

Kuroo went to take it out of his hand but all that was heard from the two toned hair boy was, "touch it and you die." 

Kuroo quickly backed away from Kenma and sat at the end of the bed. 

Hinata laughed at the comment and the reaction. 

"Your laughing now but he's serious." Kuroo explained. 

"Kenma. Hurting someone? That's funny. Kenma wouldn't hurt a fly," Hinata said. 

"I would if it would take my game." 

Hinata and Kuroo went wide eyed. 

"He must like that game," Hinata mumbled. 

"No kidding." 

They talked for a little while. Mostly asking Hinata how he was feeling and scolding him for not saying anything when it first started. 

"They did a MRI this morning." He told Kuroo. 

"So they'll be able to say for sure what's wrong when they get the results from that. That's good news!" 

"Kinda nervous about the results though." 

"What do you mean Shoyo?" Kenma asked looking at from his game. 

Kenma was the type of person who cared for his closest friend. Kuroo and him have been friends since birth but Kenma loves to mess with Kuroo for fun. 

"They asked me to walk a short distance. And." He paused. "I- I couldn't. I'm scared Kenma. I truly am." Hinata started to panic a little bit was snapped out of it when the door swung open. 

"SHOYO!" A small child yelled. A little girl with orange hair tan to her brother. Kuroo lifted the small child up and she gave him a hug. 

"Natsu. We are in a hospital. No yelling!" Hinata's mother told the girl. 

"Sorry mommy," she apologized. 

Kageyama walked in behind her and they closed the door. 

"Mrs. Hinata. I'm Kuroo and the person sitting there is Kenma. We are some friends from Nekoma." Kuroo introduced himself. 

Hinata's mom greeted the two boys. 

"How are you feeling dummy?" Kageyama asked. 

"Fine. I guess. Not to sure at the moment." He answered. 

Hinata told his mother and best friend about the event this morning and how he wasn't able to walk. 

The thought scared everyone. 

"Shoyo. Did the doctor say when the results from the MRI will come in?" His mother asked. 

"What time is it?" 

"Around 4:30." Someone replied. 

"I went do it at 9:00 this morning but honestly I have no clue."

Everyone started to talk to each other as Natsu started to color in a coloring book that's he had brought. 

Kuroo looked to the book. "That's pretty cool book little Hinata." He said trying to play around with Natsu. 

"Call me Natsu!" She said. "And thank you, chicken hair." 

Kuroo was shocked at the nickname. Everyone started to laugh at his shocked and surprised face. 

"Do I really look like a chicken?" He asked. 

"Yes. Yes you do," Kenma smiled. 

A couple minutes after the whole Kuroo chicken nickname discussion, the door was slowly opened and in walked the doctor with his clipboard. 

"Good afternoon." They all said to one another. 

"Yeah. Same to you." He paused. "I have the results from the blood work and the MRI." He said. 

He then saw Natsu sitting on the bed. 

"Mrs. Hinata. Your daughter is to young to hear all this." He called for a nurse to bring Natsu into the hall. 

Kageyama was standing next to Hinata. He felt a hand make its way into his. Hinata was gripping onto his hand, hard. It was fear. 

"Well I'm just going straight to the point. Shoyo Hinata, you have an inoperable brain tumor." 

You could feel the energy in the room get sucked out. The usually loud and energetic boy was sitting in silence. 

His mother started to cry in memories coming back from her husband. 

"What?" Hinata said in disbelief. 

"The tumor has made its way to being intertwined with your nervous system. That's why you couldn't walk this morning." The doctor continued. 

Kenma dropped his game and you heard the crashing of it to the floor and the music signaling it was game over. 

"No," he said softly. 

"We can start radiation treatment but there's no definite solution. We can try to get rid of this." The doctor stopped talking. He couldn't say that this boy that was only 16 was going to die. 

He just couldn't. 

"We start it tomorrow." He finished. 

The whole room was in shock. 

"I-I'm going to-. No. I can't. I'll fight it." He said. "Kageyama I will spike for your sets again. I will. Do you understand that?" He determined. 

Kageyama wanted to believe in his friend. He desperately wanted to. He needed to. 

He gave a smile. "You'll win this."


	9. Chapter 9

Visiting hours came to an end and Kenma and Kuroo needed up leaving first. 

"Shoyo." His mother softly spoke. 

The whole family was in shock still from the horrible news. Natsu still didn't know but she understood that her big brother was sick.

A knock sounded at the door and the doctor walked in. 

Mrs. Hinata turned to the doctor. "I'm sorry. I know visiting hours ended already. Natsu, Kageyama let's go," she said collecting her bag. 

"No, actually I was hoping to find you before you left." Dr. Nick explained. 

"Really now," she replied. The doctor can easily see the messed up eye makeup from her crying. 

He loved his job but saying heartbreaking news was the one thing he hated. 

"We are able to actually start treatment tonight. Once it's started and we get a schedule going we can possibly transfer your son to the hospital closer to your home. Would that be alright?" 

Mrs. Hinata looked over to her son. He gave a quick nod. "If I'm going to fight this I'm going to give it everything I got." Hinata determined. 

Kageyama couldn't help but admire the courage the ginger had. He was an injured crow trying to fly again. 

"Well then, I guess we can start it tonight. When do you think he can be transferred?" His mother asked. 

"In about 2-3 days. We just need to see how his body is going to react to the chemo. That and he's going to have trouble getting around." 

Hinata's mother nodded. "Shoyo I have the night shifts at work for the next few days. Natsu is going to stay with Kageyama's family." 

"That's fine mom. Kageyama take care of my little sister alright," he smiled. 

"Of course dummy. You guys are like family to me."

"You, saying we are like family!? That's a huge step in our friendship Tobio!" 

Kageyama blushed a little. "Shut up!" He said. 

"Make me!" The two boys were play fighting like usual. 

"Sorry to break up with little fight of yours but we have to go Kageyama." His mother interrupted. 

"Yes ma'am. I'll see you later Shoyo." Kageyama said. 

"Bye Tobio!" Hinata waved. The group left. 

The doctor went up to Hinata to check his vitals while he was there. 

"So is he your boyfriend?" He asked. 

Hinata blushed like mad crazy. "What?! I mean we are close, but not that close. Well at least I think. He's my best friend," he rambled. 

"I get it. You like him." Hinata couldn't help but want to disappear from the world. 

He had a crush on his best friend. 

"We're going to start the treatment in the morning. Your body is to tired from the day." The doctor explained. "Do you feel tired?"

"A little but not extremely."

The doctor took a mental note of this. "I'll get them to send in your dinner early so you can get some sleep." 

"Okay."

The doctor finished up analyzing Hinata's vitals and walked out the room. 

Once he left that's when Hinata broke down. 

The overwhelming thoughts of the situation flooded through his mind. 

He wanted to scream but he was trapped in a cage.

He calmed himself down before he put himself into a major panic attack but it had already caused his headache to worsen. 

He lied down and closed his eyes to pass the time. 

"Shoyo. Wake up. I have your dinner." He heard a soft voice say. He opened his eyes to see a nurse shaking him awake. 

"Did I fall asleep?" He asked. 

"Yes you were. Just make sure you eat. Your body is going to need the nutrients for your treatment," she gave a soft smile. 

"Thanks." He mumbled. 

"Have a goodnight Shoyo." With that she left. 

Hinata quickly ate his food and fell back asleep. 

—-

The sun once again woke him up. He felt like normal. He wanted to go out and play volleyball with the rest of his team. It's only been 2 days but he had missed them. 

He noticed that breakfast had already been brought and was on his table with a note. 

'Good morning Shoyo. Eat breakfast and when your finished press the button to call a nurse in. We will start your chemotherapy after you eat.' 

He read the note being slapped back into the dark reality he lived in.

He sighed deeply as he ate his meal.

Once he finished he pressed the call nurse button that was near his bed like the not said. 

Within seconds a nurse came into his room. 

"You called?" She asked sweetly. 

"Yeah. Dr. Nick left a note here and told me to call a nurse as soon as I finished eating." She walked over to the table and grabbed the note that was left for Hinata. 

She read over the note and slowly nodded. "I'll go get him for you." 

"Thank you," he replied. 

As she left the room Hinata thought about if he could walk. 

He wanted to get up and walk across the room but he knew that if he tried he would not achieve his goal. 

He frowned at the thought. 

"Today's the first day of your treatment, there's no reason to frown," a mans voice echoed through the room. 

Hinata looked up to see Dr. Nick with a wheelchair. 

"Your right." Hinata smiled. 

The doctor put the brakes in the wheelchair and went over to Hinata. He disconnected him from the IV. 

"Do you want to try to get out the bed by yourself? I'll have to help you walk through." 

"I can try." Hinata pushed the covers off him and forced his legs to dangle off the side of the bed. 

He took a deep breath and slowly slide himself off the bed. He was still able to stand up on his on without help but he knew he wouldn't be able to walk. 

"Grab on to my arm." Dr. Nick told him. 

Hinata did as the doctor said and used his arm as a crutch. 

"Do you know why I tell you to try to get up on your on?" The doctor asked Hinata as he sat him in the wheelchair. 

"Why's that?" 

"It shows me if you give up or not. The day you stop trying is the day you lose." The doctor then moved to the front of the wheelchair and bent down to Hinata's eye level. "Promise me something Shoyo. If it gets to the point that you can't stand on your own and it feels like you can't do anything, continue to try. Don't let this control the rest of your life."

The doctor moved back to behind the chair. 

Hinata was inspired by his words. He had told himself so many times to not give up but he needed help. He needed the support. 

"Now take the breaks off the wheelchair. Your going to have to be using these a lot in the future."


	10. Chapter 10

The doctor wheeled him into a large room with reclining type chairs with poles set up behind each chair. There were a series of people there but the common trend was that they were all older. 

Hinata felt out of place. 

The doctor pushed the wheelchair to an empty chair. "Now put the breaks on the chair." The doctor said. 

Hinata pulled the breaks to the chair to keep it from moving. 

"Now push yourself up and out of the wheelchair and stand up. Grab on to the recliner in front of you feel like you falling forward." 

Hinata put each hand on the armrest of the wheelchair and used all his strength to push himself up and out the chair. He moved his feet to the cold floor. 

He stood up on his on. He then slowly turned around and sat down in the recliner. 

"Great job Shoyo. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Dr. Nick." Hinata was happy. It may have seemed basic and a common task but any success was a big on. 

"No problem. Now I got to set you up. All you have to do is sit there." 

The doctor connected different IVs to Hinata and set him up for his first round of chemotherapy. 

Hinata felt weird as it entered his body. 

"Now I'm going do some other things but once your session is finished for the day I'll come and get you." 

"Okay. Thanks," He smiled to the doctor. The doctor left the area. 

Hinata looked around the room. There were about 20 chairs but only 7 of them were filled including himself. 

"Your new here," he heard a voice say. 

He looked up to see a boy in front of him. 

"Sorry that was rude of me. My name is Zen. I'm a volunteer here." The boy said. 

"I'm Shoyo Hinata and I guess you can tell that I'm a patient here." Zen started to laugh. Hinata followed along and laugh with him. 

Zen sat down in the chair next to him. 

"How old are you Hinata?" Zen asked. His jet black hair was pulled back out of his face. 

"I'm 16."

"Wow. Your young. Sorry. It's just that young people in chemo isn't common." 

Hinata looked back down to his hands. He wished he had brought his phone but he left it in his room. 

"So why your here? It's not everyday I see someone my age in this section in the hospital."

"I have brain tumor and it's wrapped up in my nervous system so they can't operate on it." Hinata was usually very energetic but he was feeling tired and sleepy. 

"I'm sorry that I keep asking you questions. I can tell that it's your first session."

Hinata looked at the strange boy. "How do you know?" He questioned. 

"I can tell that your trying not to fall asleep. Whenever your body is not used to the radiation you get tired pretty quick." Zen explained. 

Hinata was shocked how Zen could figure that out. "How long have you've been volunteering here?" 

Zen thought for a moment. "About 2 years. I started volunteering cause of a club but I loved it so much I decided to stay."

Hinata was happy that Zen came up to him and kept in company. Zen stayed till Hinata's session of over. 

It was about an hour since Hinata had started his chemo and Dr. Nick had finally came back. 

"Good morning Zen." The doctor said as he noticed the boy sitting next to Hinata. 

"Likewise." 

The doctor then turned to Hinata. He could tell that he was tired. "Shoyo your session is over for today. It's not a long one because we are trying to get your body used to it first." 

Hinata looked up and nodded. 

"Zen help me out here," the doctor said. The two disconnected the Different things from Hinata. 

The wheelchair was brought back in and put in front of Hinata. 

"Do you want to try?" The doctor asked. 

Hinata thought back to what the doctor had told him before. 

Hinata did like did before and placed each hand on a arm rest. He used all his strength to lift himself out of the chair and stand up. He slowly turned and sat in the wheelchair. 

Hinata smiled to himself. "Zen if you want, you can keep him company in his room. He's pretty hyper as his mother says but he hasn't truly been since he got here." The doctor told Zen. 

"Of course." He replied. Zen started to push the wheelchair and followed the doctor to Hinata's room. 

They helped him into his bed and reconnected his IV. 

The doctor left after that but Zen stayed. He noticed Hinata's phone on the table and quickly took it. 

He tapped it until he finished what he was doing and handed the phone back to Hinata. "I put my number in and by the way someone named Kageyama wants you to call them." 

Hinata eyes lit up. He quickly tapped the FaceTime app and clicked Kageyama's name. 

It barely rang for a second until his raven haired best friend showed up. 

"Morning Hinata."

"Morning Kageyama."


	11. Chapter 11

"How was your first chemo session? We all miss you." The raven hair boys said. It seemed like he was at lunch at school. 

"It was tiring and did you say we? That means even you!" 

Hinata saw Kageyama's face go red. "Whatever dummy. I saw you last night."

Hinata laughed. "By the way this is Zen," Hinata moved the phone to face Zen who was sitting near the bed. 

"Hello." Zen said. 

"You better be taking care of my best friend." Kageyama growled. 

"Be nice Kageyama! And he is. He got me through my chem this morning."

Zen mouthed 'thank you' to Hinata. 

"I thought your chemo was starting last night." Kageyama questioned. 

"It was supposed to be but apparently my body was to tired. So I did it this morning."

The bell from school sounded meaning Kageyama had to go. 

"Before I go, when you get transferred back here and if they let you come home your staying at my place. Your mom doesn't want you to deal with the front stairs by your house."

"Okay. Thanks for telling me. Bye Tobio!" 

"Bye Shoyo." The call ended. 

"So your not from Tokyo?" Zen asked. 

"No. I was at Nekoma high school because my volleyball team had a practice match with the Nekoma team then apparently I passed out. I don't really remember to much." Hinata chuckled at the end. 

"So you play volleyball?" Zen asked. 

"Yea, I do. I'm a middle blocker but my receives suck tho. I'm working on them." 

Hinata's as enjoying talking about volleyball but it made him recall all the memories and friends he has made from the game. He missed it. 

"Hinata. Hinata!" He heard his name but it seemed distant. 

He felt a hand in his arm and he snapped back into reality. 

"You're okay?" Zen asked. 

"Yea. I think so." Honestly he felt weak. He wanted to go to sleep and rest. 

"You can go to sleep you know. Chemo usually makes people tired." 

"How can you tell?" Hinata determined that Zen was good at reading the room and can understand what someone is thinking just by looking at them. 

"Firstly, you just spaced out. Second, you look tired. Lastly, your a little pale but I don't know if that's from you being tired." Zen explained. 

Hinata let out a yawn. "Wow your good." 

Zen smiled at the comment. "Just rest. I'll come by later." 

Hinata fell asleep right away. Zen looked at the sleeping boy. 

Being pale wasn't good. Especially cancer patients. He walked out the room and found the closest nurse. 

"Hello Zen. How are you?" The nurse asked. 

"I'm good. I just want to let you know that patient Shoyo Hinata looks extremely tired and he is pale. He's sleeping now." He explained. 

The nurse pulled out her clipboard and flipped to the Hinata's name on it. 

"He had a chemotherapy treatment this morning so that'll explain him being tired. Let's just let him sleep and we'll go check on him later."

Zen nodded. "Thank you." 

"Likewise." 

Zen turned to go to the volunteer break room and grabbed his things. He clocked out and grabbed his things. 

As he walked out the hospital he looked back. "Get well soon Shoyo Hinata."

—-

Hinata woke up felling awful. His head was pounding and felt like it would explode at any moment. 

The lights of the room were blinding him. He felt around for the nurse call button. Once he found it he quickly pressed the button. 

Within a minute a nurse walked in. She say the distress that Hinata was in. 

"Head, extremely, in pain," he made out. He tried to form a sentence but the pin was too much. She quickly ran into the hall and called for any doctor to come. 

Thankfully Dr. Nick was already in the hall. 

He quickly ran to the room and saw how pale Hinata was. 

"His body isn't taking the radiation. Get a sedative. NOW!" He screamed. 

The nurse ran out as Dr. Nick tried to talk to Hinata. 

"Shoyo, I know the answer but rate the pain, 1-10."

"10! An extremely high 10!" Hinata clenched his teeth together. He wanted this pain to be over with. 

The nurse ran back in with a tray of sedatives on it. Dr. Nick took on and sit up the needle to it. 

He then injected the liquid into Hinata hoping it would calm his body down. 

Hinata felt tired again. His eyes were already closed but they relaxed. His breathing slowed down and started to have a rhythm to it. 

"He's alseep," Dr. nick said letting out a sigh. 

"What's wrong Nick?" The nurse asked him. 

"That right there was his body reacting to the radiation from chemo very harshly. Usually the person gets extremely tired but it caused him extreme pain." Dr. Nick ran his hand through his hair. 

He wanted to save this boy but he was running out of options on what to do. 

"Tomorrow let him rest. No chemo but the next day set him up for a session but not as long."

"Yes sir."

Dr. Nick looked back the the ginger on the bed. "I will cure you Shoyo Hinata."


	12. Chapter 12

The next day Hinata sleep most of the time only waking up to eat and talk to any doctor or nurse that came in. Zen came in through the day and checked on him. 

The day after his eyes slowly peeled open. He said up and rubbed his eyes with his hands to wake up. "My head is sore," he said quietly. 

He knew he wasn't himself. He wasn't bubbly like normal and he barely had energy. 

A knock on the door brought his attention to the boy walking in. 

"Zen?" Hinata questioned. 

"Hey Shoyo. Glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Zen asked. 

"Sore. Very sore."

"You were completely out all of yesterday. Not going to lie I was kinda scared." Hinata looked at him shocked. 

"You mean yesterday wasn't the chemo treatment?" 

"Yep. I heard from Dr. Nick that your going to do a shorter treatment today and possibly get transferred to your hometown."

"Really? I feel weird." 

"Yep. Even though I only met you two days ago, I'm going to miss you when you transfer."

Hinata smiled. Zen reminded him of himself. His old self. But his weak current self. 

"When is this chemo treatment?"

"I think after lunch. Try to get some of your energy back. Your body reacted violently the other day and I know that your body is still weak from it." Zen gave a small smile. 

"Thanks." Zen waved goodbye as he left the room. 

Hinata grabbed his phone and saw the many missed calls from Kageyama. 

"I should call him."

He pressed the FaceTime app and called Kageyama. 

After two short rings he answered it. "Hinata! Your mom called me and told me that something happened. I was so scared."

"Is today Saturday?" Hinata asked. 

"Yeah. It is. Why? Does it have to do with you not answering yesterday?"

"Yeah. Apparently my body didn't react good with the chemo and I was sleeping all day yesterday. I still can't believe it myself," Hinata gave out a small chuckle. 

"Shoyo. That's not something to laugh at." 

Hinata sighed. "I know. On the bright side they said that I may be transferring over to the Karasuno area today after chemo."

"That's good. I miss you dummy. A lot." 

Hinata blushed a little at what he said. 

"Shoyo. Are you blushing?" Kageyama asked. 

"W-What?! Of course not! I don't know what your talking about," Hinata tried to play off. 

"I can confirm that his heart rate has increased due to the heart monitor we have him set up to," I husky voice said. 

"Dr. Nick?!" Hinata said looking up at the man. 

Hinata wasn't looking at the phone when Kageyama was blushing as well. 

Dr. Nick then took the phone out of Hinata's hands to see Kageyama. 

"I hate to steal him away from you, but Shoyo here has a date with a chair later that battle his cancer!" Dr. Nick joked. 

"I have such an embarrassing doctor." Hinata sighed. 

"I'm also keeping you alive." 

"Not funny but true." Hinata said in defeat. 

"Well goodbye young man. Shoyo shall speak with you later."

"Bye Tobio!" Hinata called out. 

"Bye Shoyo." The called ended and Nick tossed back Hinata's phone. 

"Why did you do that?" 

"Do what?" Dr. Nick said innocently. 

Hinata turned around and grabbed his pillow and threw it at him. 

Both of them laughed as the doctor picked up the pillow that was now on the floor. 

"Glad to see you have the strength to throw things." He smiled. "Anyway, Zen told me that you were awake. You lunch is going to come in about 30 minutes. You missed breakfast. Just wanted to let you know that another round of chemo is going to happen around 1:00."

"Okay. That's fine."

"Also your transferring over to your hometown and I'm coming with since I'm the primary doctor for your case."

Hinata looked up. He was being transferred? Part of him was happy but another was oddly disappointed. 

"That's good. Will I be able to go back to school?" Hinata asked with the sight of hope in his eyes. 

The doctor brought his hand to the back of his head. "It depends." 

"What do you mean?"

"Since your body reacted violently to the chemo and the uncertainty if it'll actually work, I think it's better to wait and see." Hinata frowned. 

He wanted to go back to normal life. He wanted to jump around and play volleyball again. He wanted to travel all over with his friends and meet new people. He didn't want to be stuck in a hospital room forever. 

"On the bright side you will be able to see your friends more often. I noticed that Zen as well as those other two boys that came the other day are your only friends near."

"Yeah. The others that live around here live a little far."

The doctor checked everything that he needed before heading out. 

Lunch came and went and 1:00 soon came. 

Hinata was brought back to the room where he goes through his chemotherapy treatment. 

His treatment wasn't as long as the first session and once he was done he was brought back to his room. 

"Shoyo. I need to do some last minute paperwork before we can start heading over to the other hospital." Th doctor told Hinata. 

He gave a slight nod. 

Hinata grabbed his phone and texted his mother, Kageyama, the whole Karasuno team, and well as Kenma and Kuroo that he was about to get transferred to the other hospital. 

Hinata put his phone done in his lap as Dr. Nick came in with the wheelchair. Hinata threw off the covers and looked over to the doctor. 

"Do I have to keep wearing this?" Hinata asked. 

"I know it's embarrassing and weird but yes. You'll change into a new one once we get to the other hospital." 

Hinata sighed as he went to swing his legs off the side of the bed, but there was a problem. 

He couldn't move his legs.


	13. Chapter 13

"I can't move them." Hinata said wide eyed. "I-I can't move my legs." Nothing could stop the tears from falling. 

Before chemo he was able to stand but only for a few seconds, but know he couldn't even move them. 

He tried and couldn't succeed. 

Dr. Nick took a deep breath. He wanted to comfort the boy but he couldn't find the words. He's only been through 2 rounds of chemo so things are happen to get worse before better. 

"Shoyo, I'll lift you to the chair but always remember what I told you. You can't give up." He said. 

"Yes sir." 

The door swans open and zen walked in. 

"Sorry but I wanted to say bye to Hinata before he left," Zen said with a smile. He noticed the tears on Hinata's face and stoped smiling. 

"Zen help me lift Shoyo into the chair please," the doctor said. 

Hinata used his hands to turn himself sideways so his legs would dangle of the side of the bed so it would be easier for the two to lift him. 

He felt weird pushing his legs with his hands. The two then lifted him and placed him into the chair. 

Zen grabbed Hinata's bag and phone and put it in Shoyo's lap. 

"Time to go!" The doctor started to push Hinata into the hall. 

"Bye Shoyo! Get better soon you hear!" Zen said proudly. 

"Bye Zen and I will," Hinata replied. 

The doctor pushed him into the elevator and pushed the button to go to the bottom floor. 

Once they got into the main lobby, Nick pushed Hinata towards the ambulance that was waiting near the door. 

Hinata felt the eyes of the people stare at him. He didn't want to make eye contact with any of them so he kept looking down in his lap. 

Once they got outside, they stretcher was takin out. Nick and the paramedic team lifted hiM out the chair and onto the stretcher. 

They put the bed looking thing back in the vehicle and went back into the vehicle. 

Dr.Nick and another doctor joined Hinata in the back. 

They strapped everyone in and after they started to move. 

"You can go to sleep Shoyo. I know you are tired from your treatment today."

Hinata gave a slight nod a d relaxed a little. He let his eyes close and soon after he drifted into a peaceful sleep. 

——

Hinata woke up feeling the doctors starting to undo the straps. 

"Are we at the other hospital?" Hinata asked. 

"Yes and apparently your going to love it when we go outside." Nick smiled. 

How could Hinata love a hospital?

He shrugged off the question and let the doctors do their thing. 

A loud knock at the door sounded followed by, "Opening up!" Was heard. The doors opened wide and the doctors removed the stretcher from the ambulance. 

Hinata looked up and say the whole Karasuno boys volleyball team standing there. 

"Guys!" Hinata said with a smile ignoring the doctors. His mother was also there with the team. "Mom!" He smiled. 

Doctor Nick smiled seeing the boy so happy. It was time to lift Hinata into the wheelchair. 

"Shoyo, wheelchair time." Hinata gave a slight nod as the doctors lifted the boy into the wheelchair. 

"Before you all crash into his room let us get him set up first." 

"Yes sir," the whole team sighed. 

Hinata laughed at the team. They began to push him inside the hospital and straight into an empty room on a the 5th floor of the hospital. 

The quickly changed him into a fresh, clean hospital gown and connected him to a heart monitor in case his body reacted to the chemo violently again. 

After about an hour, the team and his mom were finally allowed to go in the room. 

"Hinata/Shoyo!" Everyone said as the burst through the room. 

"Hey guys," Hinata smiled. 

The boys threw question after question to the poor boy but one caught his attention. 

"Why did they have to lift you off the stretcher?" He heard Suga ask. 

Hinata choked on air as he heard the question. 

"Baby. Are you ok?" His mother asked. 

"I can't move them," he replied slowly. 

"What?" They all said at the same time. 

"I can barely feel them and I can't move them." He started to cry. 

The whole room went silent. 

No one knew what to say. 

The door opened and Dr. Nick walked in. "Going by how quiet it is, he told you about his legs."

Everyone nodded. 

"Mrs. Hinata, I do need to talk to you privately. It's about the phone call we had the night before last." Hinata stiffened knowing that he was talking about the violent chemo reaction. 

"Shoyo. Are you okay?" Kageyama asked putting his hand on Hinata's shoulder. 

This action brought Hinata out of his daze. "Yeah, I just know what they are talking about and I'm not going to lie it was kinda scary." Kageyama nodded realizing that it was what he told him about this morning. 

"Does it have to deal with the reason why they put a heart monitor on ya?" The short second year, Noya, asked. 

"Yea." The team didn't push to the questions about it seeing how Hinata was getting uncomfortable talking about it. "I can't wait to get back in the court!" Hinata said with a smile. 

The whole team looked at him like he was crazy. He was going through something life threatening and all he thought about was volleyball.

"I can't wait to have my partner in crime back in the court as well," Kageyama grinned. 

Hinata was brought out of his dark vision and was brought back to the light by his best friend. He lived his team but without Tobio Kageyama, Hinata wouldn't be the person he was in volleyball and in life. 

"I'm going to get better and play volleyball again!" Hinata cheered. 

Little did he know his future was going to be dark. The sunshine boy will face dark and thick clouds.


	14. Chapter 14

A month as gone by since the incident during the Nekoma practice match. 

Hinata was still in the hospital going through chemo to try to get rid of his inoperable brain tumor. 

His headaches would still come and go but they haven't been extremely violent.

His mother visits about once a week because of her many jobs. Kageyama visits everyday after practice. The whole team would visit every now and then but they were mostly busy with school work. 

Hinata was able to get work from school to do so he wouldn't be left behind. 

Even though Kageyama wasn't the best at school he still did his best to teach Hinata everything he needed to know. 

——

Hinata had just just finished his treatment for the day and he felt kinda weird. 

Nothing physically was hurting but he had the feelings that something was off. 

His was completely paralyzed the waist down, so it was nothing there. Hinata ran his hand through his thinning hair but when his hand would normally come out of his hair he felt chunks left in his hand. 

He brought his hand down and saw the bright orange hair sitting there in his small hand. He knew that it was bound to happen but he felt a sense of sadness. 

He put the chunks of hair on the table near the bed to get it out his hand. 

He sighed as he started to look through the book he was given from school. 

"Knock, Knock!" He heard Dr. Nick say as he opened the door. 

"Hey Dr. Nick," Hinata said with a smile. 

The doctor looked around and say the small pile of hair on the table. 

"It's starting to come out?" He asked. 

"It was thinking out but I guess it's just coming out now." 

"It's just a side effect from the chemo. Once your fully cancer free and you get out of chemo it'll start growing back. I promise," Hinata smiled. "Good news your going to be able to go home. You'll still have to come in for treatments but it's better than being stuck here all the time right?" 

Hinata smiled even more. He was finally able to go home and leave the hospital. They kept him in the hospital for so long because of the attack after his first round of chemo. He's had only 4 rounds in a month but they didn't want to take any chances. 

"Can I call my friend?" He asked Nick. 

"I'm not your mother. Go ahead."

Hinata grabbed his phone and quickly started to FaceTime Kageyama. 

It rang a few times before he finally answered. 

"What do you want?" Kageyama answered. 

"I got good news!" Hinata said. 

"What is it?"

"They are releasing me from the hospital. I'll be able to go home!" Kageyama's lips stretched into a side smile. 

"Oh my gosh. Are you serious? I have to tell the team. Did you call your mom?"

Hinata turned to the doctor who was still in the room. 

"We already called your mother and she said that your family would look after Shoyo since you guys live closer and can care for him easier." The doctor said. 

"Oh yeah. I forgot we talked about that a while back. When is he getting released?"

"Tomorrow morning. I'll call your parents to give them more details."

"Thank you sir. Hinata are you going to come back to school?"

"I would just need my wheelchair but I don't see why not. I've been doing my school work here so I should be at the same place as the rest of the class."

Hinata was finally able to go home. He couldn't help but smile. That was only the first step into beating his cancer. 

Then he thought about his hair. 

"Tomorrow's Sunday so you'll be able to go to school on Monday if you would like. Just take it easy," Dr. Nick said. 

Hinata nodded. 

"I got to go Tobio. I need to do something." Hinata said. 

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." With that the call ended. 

"Why did you hang up?" Dr. Nick asked. 

Hinata thought about what he wanted to do. He didn't want Kageyama's family to worry about his hair and he also didn't want the school freaking out about it. He already has his wheelchair. 

"May I... shave my head?" Hinata asked. "I'll just make things easier."

The doctor gave a slight smile. "If that's what you want then of course. I'll be right back."

Hinata smiled but was a little uneasy. He thought to himself, 'what am I getting myself into?'

A few short minutes later the doctor came with a electric razor, a bowl and a few towels. 

The razor was cordless so it was easier to to mess around with a wire. 

The doctor put towels around Hinata to catch the falling hair. 

He then handed the razor to Hinata. 

"Do you want to make the first move?" 

Hinata hesitantly grabbed the razor and turned it on. The sound of the buzz made him rethink his choice, but it was to late as he made the first stroke straight down the middle. 

The doctor grabbed the larger chuncls and put them into the bowl. 

"I'll do the rest," he said grabbing the razor from Hinata's hand. 

It was a slow process but the doctor finally finished leaving a bald Hinata sitting there. 

"This feels weird." Hinata said wanting to touch his now oddly smooth head. 

The doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a beanie. He tossed it to Hinata. 

"Put that on. It'll be your temporary hair as well has other types of hats of sorts," he laughed. 

"Thank you doctor Nick."

"No problem. Tomorrow's a big day!"


	15. Chapter 15

The morning that Hinata had been waiting for had finally came. He wished that he was able to jump around and celebrate but he had to settle with celebrating in the hospital bed. 

The doctor had removed the tubes of sorts from Hinata after they shaved Hinata's head. 

The soft orange beanie was keeping his head warm. 

He had texted Kageyama to bring him some normal clothes for when his family comes pick him up. 

He didn't tell him that he had shaved his head and was kinda nervous on how he would react. Not just him but the rest of the team. 

Hinata caught a chill thinking about everyone's reaction. 

It seemed like forever until the door flew open and Kageyama ran in. 

He was acting out of character and was going to hug him until he noticed the fluffy orange beanie on Hinata's head. 

"Tobio it's not nice to just run in his room," Kageyama's mother said. She was holding Natsu in her arms and put her down as soon as they got into the room. 

Natsu ran straight to her brother and demanded to be lifted on to the bed. 

"Shoyo, can I come up?" She asked sweetly. 

"Of course. Tobio can you lift her?"

Kageyama snapped out his trance and picked Natsu and put her in the bed. 

She crawled over to her brother and gave him the biggest hug. 

"I missed you big brother!" 

Hinata chuckled. "I missed you too." It was hard to tell who was hugging the other tighter. 

Hinata was just happy to be able to see her sister again. 

The doctor walked in and say that Kageyama's mother was there already. 

"Good morning Mrs. Kageyama." Dr. Nick said politely. 

"Good morning."

"I just wanted to say this with Shoyo still here. He's going to have to be brought in for a chemo treatment once a week and I would like to schedule another MRI with blood work in a few weeks to see the progress of his cancer." 

"At least I won't be stuck here being lonely," Hinata joked. 

"Are you saying I wasn't good company? I'm deeply offended." The whole room laughed. 

Everyone except Tobio Kageyama. He was still in shock from seeing the beanie. 

"Tobio here is Shoyo's clothes that he asked for." Mrs. Kageyama gave him a bag of clothes. 

"Yes! You are a life saver. This hospital gown is not a good fashion statement."

"Ladies if you don't mind can you step outside while I change Shoyo. Tobio can help if he wants," Dr. Nick said. 

"Okay. Come Natsu your brother needs to change and then we can go home."

"Can we get meat buns?" Natsu asked. 

"Of course honey."

Natsu cheered as she slide down from the bed. 

The two girls walked out leaving the doctor, Kageyama, and Hinata in the room. 

Hinata threw the covers off his legs. 

Kageyama saw how skinny and pale his legs were. They looked like the could snap so easily like twigs. 

"Let's start with pants."

Kageyama pulled out jogging pants from the bag and placed the bag on the ground. 

He saw how Hinata had pulled his legs close to him and attempted to lift each leg up as the doctor himself pulled each pants leg up. 

Kageyama blushed slightly as they pulled the waistband to Hinata's waist line. 

The doctor must have say this and chuckled. 

"What's so funny Dr. Nick?" Hinata asked. 

"Oh nothing. Just remembering something I asked you when you first got emitted."

Hinata tried to remember what he was talking about but just shrugged it off. 

"Tobio, Shoyo should be able to put his shirt on by himself." 

He reached down and grabbed the T-shirt from the bag and tossed it to Hinata. 

Hinata took off the beanie so he didn't have to worry about it falling off. 

Kageyama went wide eyed seeing the once fluffy orange hair gone. It was strange seeing Hinata like this. 

"Oh yeah. I shaved my head," Hinata said with a nervous laugh. 

"Uh. Yeah. It's just...different." He let out. 

Hinata pulled the hospital gown off of him and handed it to the doctor. 

His once strongly formed 6 pack abs were now softer and not as visible. 

He slide in the shirt and put back on the beanie. 

"I'll go get your wheelchair." The doctor walked out the room and the girls walked back in. 

"Hey Natsu want to see something weird?" Hinata asked. 

"What is it?" 

Hinata knew that his sister was going to be weirded out so he rather have it sooner rather than later. 

He pulled off the beanie again and revealed his now bald head. 

"Wow. Shoyo you look so cool!" She said. 

Everyone was shocked by how she reacted. 

"You think so?" 

She nodded her head. "It sad that your hair went away but your still my awesome big brother!" Kageyama get a little embarrassed seeing how Natsu reacted to it. 

Hinata put the beanie back on. "Say, I'll make you a deal. If you make me a hat Natsu I'll wear it to school."

Her face lit up. "Really?!" 

"Yep." She cheered with joy. 

"I'm going to make it the most amazing thing ever!" 

Hinata thought about how she would make a hat for him but he knew that she would make something silly but he would still wear it with pride. 

"I'm back!" The doctor said pushing a wheelchair into the room. 

"Finally. I'm ready to leave this place." Hinata said. 

"Your still going to come see my beautiful face once a week." The doctor joked. 

"Don't remind me."

Hinata moved his legs off the bed and was now sitting on the edge of the bed. 

The doctor showed Kageyama how to lift Hinata up to put him in his wheelchair safely and right after they placed him in it. 

"Shoyo can I ride with you?" Natsu asked. 

Kageyama looked over to the doctor but the doctor was looking at Hinata. 

"Sure thing but remember your going to need to hold on to the arms rests. I can't feel my legs, remember?"

Natsu nodded and went over to her brother. He lifted her up and placed her on his lap. She held on to the arm rests as Hinata began to pull the wheels so he would start going forward. 

The group made its way to the elevator. Hinat had a hard time backing into it but thankfully the doctor pulled him backwards into the elevator. 

Once they got out they made their way to the van in the parking lot. 

They were given a handicap parking pass so it was easier for Hinata to get into the car. 

Natsu got off of Hinata and Mrs. Kageyama helped her into her car seat. 

Kageyama was able to lift Hinata out of the wheelchair and put him into the car successfully. 

"Thanks Tobio." He said.

Kageyama smiled and went to put the wheelchair in the back of the car. 

The doctor walked up to Hinata and whispered into his ear. "Get your man," he whispered. 

Hinata turned a deep shade of red. He playfully punched the doctor. 

"I hate you," he said. 

"I'm keeping you alive," he shot back. 

The two laughed as Hinata pulled the seatbelt and put it on. The doctor closed the car door. 

Once everyone was in the car they started to drive off. 

"I'm finally out!" Hinata cheered. 

Everyone laughed as they left the parking lot of the hospital. 

Hinata could help but smile. 

It was another step in recovery and he was able to go to school tomorrow but tomorrow was going to be another adventure by itself.


	16. Chapter 16

Hinata stared out the window admiring the beauty of the outdoors passing quickly. 

"So, Shoyo your first scheduled chemo treatment is going to be Friday after school and every Friday following." Kageyama's mother said while driving. 

"Thanks. Hey Tobio do you think they'll let me watch practice? I'm still technically on the team right?" 

"I'm pretty sure but everyone is going to be worried about you everything little second."

Hinata laughed. "I've lasted this long. I got this."

"Have you been getting your headaches Shoyo?" Natsu asked. 

"Everyday but when they get really bad the doctors usually put something in the IV that'll calm it down."

He then moved closer to his sister acting like he was going to tell her a secret. "I mostly fell asleep after."

Natsu giggled at her brother's playful mood. 

They soon made it to the Kageyama household and both Kageyama's mother and himself got out the car. 

His mother helped Natsu out her car seat as Kageyama went to get the wheelchair out of the back of the car. 

Hinata undid the seatbelt and opened the sliding door. 

"I was going to do that," Kageyama told Hinata. 

"My legs don't work not my arms."

Kageyama rolled his eyes as he unfolded the chair and set the brakes on it. 

He then went in and picked up Hinata like the doctor told him and placed him in the chair. 

Hinata undid the brakes as Kageyama closed the car door. 

Hinata wheeled himself to the front door where Mrs. Kageyama was. 

"Thanks for letting me and my sister stay here." He said. 

"Your mother works so hard and now with your cancer she just wants to make sure you two are cared for."

Hinata cringed a little hearing about how his mother works. 

He still felt bad because he knew that the hospital bills were going to be outrageous. 

"Shoyo, the team already raised a bunch of money for the hospital bills. It's not just Karasuno. It's everyone in Japan too." Kageyama said pushing Hinata inside. 

Hinata smiled knowing that all his friends were taking care of him. It made him great full for all of them. 

Kageyama pushed Hinata into a empty room in the house that was downstairs. 

"This is going to be your room. Natsu sleeps in my sister's room so she's upstairs. My room shares a wall with you so if you need anything you would just need to yell."

"Thanks Tobio." Hinata smiled. He didn't realize it but Kageyama's face was turning a light shade of pink. 

"No problem dummy. Just don't hold in your secrets anymore."

The day went on like a normal day before Hinata's cancer. 

It was difficult for Hinata to adjust being in a wheelchair during the day and at night was worst. 

When in came time to wash up Hinata realized that he would need help transferring from his wheelchair to the bath tub. 

The only other boy in the house was Kageyama. 

Hinata squealed in embarrassment. 

Natsu and Kageyama had made his room a wheelchair friendly room. Everything was at a low level so Hinata would be able to get his own things. 

Hinat grabbed his night clothes and made his way to Kageyama's room. 

He knocked on the door and it quickly opened. 

"It's 8:30 what could you want" he snapped. 

Kageyama was tired causing him to be cranky. 

He then looked down to see Hinata's night clothes with him. 

"Oh. Sorry," he apologized. 

"It's okay. This is just weird." 

They both went down the hall and into the large bathroom. 

There was a chair in the bathroom so Hinata's wheelchair wouldn't get wet.

Hinata put the breaks on the chair before Kageyama lifted him into the other chair. 

Hinata took off his shirt and beanie before looking to Kageyama. 

His face went a deep shade of red. 

"I'm just going to put you in the tub and then walk out. You can tell when your done." Kageyama said. 

He read the room realizing Hinata was embarrassed. 

Kageyama helped remove the rest of his clothing and then picked him up and put him in the tub. 

Hinata turned the water on and Kageyama walked out. 

——

As soon as Hinata was finished Kageyama walked back in and helped him put on his night clothes. 

Kageyama went to pick him up to move him to the wheelchair but Hinata stopped him. 

"Can I try something?" 

"Just don't hurt yourself."

"Pull the wheelchair to in front of me." Kageyama did as he was told and put the chair in front of Hinata. 

Hinata reached for it and dragged is little to the side. 

"Make sure I don't fall okay?" Hinata gave a small smile. 

He then moved his hands to the arm rusts of the wheelchair and tried to swing himself into the chair. 

Tried is the key word. 

Kageyama quickly caught him before he went crashing to the floor. 

"That could have went better," Hinata joked. 

"I told you not to hurt yourself."

"But you were here with me so I knew I was going to be okay." Kageyama felt his heart skip a beat. 

"Can you grab my beanie? I forgot to put it on," Hinata asked. 

"I'm going to ask my mom if we can go to the store after practice tomorrow to get you some more head wear. You can't wear that beanie forever."

"I know it's not going to be forever once I beat this cancer and I stop the chemo treatments it'll grow back." Hinata was hopeful for the future. 

Kageyama couldn't help but admire that. 

"It's time to go to bed. We have to leave early for morning practice."

"Dang. At the hospital they would let me sleep in but then they would need to take my vitals and because of that attack a month ago they kept me under close eye."

"Stop rambling. I'm pushing you back to your room." Hinata sighed in defeat. 

They went fine the hall and into Hinata's room. Kageyama helped Hinata into the bed and let him be. 

"Goodnight Tobio," Hinata said pulling the covers over him. 

"Night Shoyo."


	17. Chapter 17

Hinata jolted awake having a nightmare. 

Almost every night he would have the same nightmare. 

He would be at the brink of recovery but suddenly go back into his current state and after that he would die. 

He sat up catching his breath trying to control his breathing. 

"It's okay. Your okay. It's not real," he repeated to himself. He heard moving around and figured it was Kageyama waking up. 

It was still dark out but he guessed it would take longer because of him being paralyzed. 

He flopped back down in defeat waiting for Kageyama to come in. He wanted to try to swing himself into the wheelchair but if he failed he knew that he would get yelled at. 

Hinata took off the beanie and went the run his fingers through his hair only to run them through air. 

"Oh yeah," he chuckled slightly. 

A knock on the door sounded. 

"Shoyo, are you awake?" A female voice said. 

"Yes. I am."

"I'm coming in." Mrs. Kageyama waked into his room. 

She noticed his beanie was off and Hinata quickly went to put it back on. "Sorry" he said. 

"Don't be sweetie. You can't control that." Her words felt comforting towards Hinata. 

"Can you help me into my chair? I can put my uniform shirt and sweater on by myself." 

She nodded and helped him into his chair. 

"Thank you," he said. 

"Your welcome. Tobio is in the shower but I'll tell him to come help you out whenever he finishes."

"Thank you." She left the room leaving Hinata there. 

He wheeled himself to the closet and opened it. The bar had been lowered like most of the other stuff in the room. 

"They truly made this place for me," he said to himself. 

He reached over and grabbed his shirt and sweater. His school wasn't to harsh on the school uniform and didn't really care how the students wore it. 

He slide off his shirt and tossed it to his bed. He removed the hanger from the clothes and slowly put them on. 

He put the hangers back in the bar and closed the closet door. He wheeled himself to his bad and folded and picked up his sleep shirt. 

He attempted to make his bed as he waited for Kageyama to come in the room. 

"I'm coming in," he heard as the door opened. 

Kageyama was dressed in his practice clothes for the morning volleyball practice. 

Hinata had grabbed the pants out of the cabinet beforehand and had them on the bed. 

"One day I'll be able to do this by myself," Hinata told him. 

"What's wrong? Don't like being treated like a child," Kageyama gave an evil smirk. 

"No. It's just embarrassing."

"Why?" Hinata didn't want to tell Kageyama that he likes him. 

"Reasons."

Kageyama gave up not really wanting to fight him this early in the morning. 

Kageyama and Hinata worked together and managed to get Hinata into his full uniform in only a few short minutes. 

He fixed the beanie in his head a little. 

"I'm starving," Hinata said. "The hospital food is so bland. It was nice to have a nice home cooked meal yesterday."

Kageyama laughed. 

"Well then. Let go eat."

——

Kageyama and never rode with him mom to school. 

Hinata was in the back seat watching the sunrise. 

They managed to get to school and say the lights on in the gym. 

"I can get him out the car mom." Kageyama said. 

"Okay. I'll come get you two after practice in the afternoon. We can go to the store after to get more head wear for Shoyo. Also make sure he doesn't get to bad of headaches."

She turned around to face Hinata. "You took all your medications right?" 

"Yes ma'am. I did." She smiled. 

Kageyama got out the car and went to the back to get the wheelchair. 

Hinata took of the seatbelt and opened the sliding door like he did yesterday. 

"What did I tell you about the door?" Kageyama sighed. 

"To bad." Hinata was lifted into his chair. 

Kageyama put Hinata's backpack on the back of the chair and grabbed his own book bag and volleyball bag. 

The door was shut and Kageyama's mother drove away. 

"I haven't been here for a month yet it feels like a lifetime." 

"How did you become so poetic?" They both laughed as they made their way to the gym. 

Kageyama saw the stairs that lead up to the gym but thankfully there were only three. 

"I'm about to do something just hold on." Hinata didn't question it as Kageyama made the chair stand on its large back wheels and carefully made its way up the stairs. 

"Your the only one I trust to do that," Hinata told him. 

"Thank you." 

They both got into the gym. 

"Good morning!" They both said. 

The whole team stopped what they were doing and ran over to Hinata. 

"Your back!!" Everyone seemed to yell. 

"Back off. He's right here." Daichi yelled at the team. 

"Sorry."

They all noticed the orange beanie on Hinata head. 

"What's with the beanie?" Noya asked. 

Hinata stiffened still not being used to it himself. 

He reached up and removed it from his head. 

They all gasped seeing the once large orange curls now gone. 

"It was coming out so I just shaved it off." Hinata said putting the beanie back on his head. 

"Tanaka your not the only bald one now!" Noya said making fun of one of his closest friends on the team. 

"I keep saying I'm not bald!" The whole team laughed at the two for a short minute. 

"Alright we're wasting practice time. Let's do what we need to do before class starts." Daichi commanded. 

"Yes sir!"

The team managers, Kiyoko and Yachi went up to Hinata. 

"Welcome back Hinata." Kiyoko said kindly. 

"Thanks."

"Yachi can you push him to the sidelines. We don't want him to get hit with a volleyball now."

Yachi nodded and went around to push the chair. 

Yachi was in the same grade as him with Kiyoko being 2 grades above them. 

Yachi pushed him the the center of the sidelines next to the net so he can watch the team work. 

Memories flooded back of him jumping and running all over the court enjoying the game. 

He wanted to cry but didn't. 

Time passed and it was time for the team to go change into their school uniforms. 

"Hinata do you need help getting from class to class?" Yachi asked. 

"No thanks. Mrs. Kageyama talked to the principal for me to use the elevators and if I'm a few minutes late to class." 

"Okay. I'll see you later." 

Hinata waved goodbye to Yachi and waited for Kageyama. 

"What are you still doing here?" Kageyama asked once he got out the locker room. 

"The stairs." Kageyama let out a sigh. 

"We are going to have to build a ramp for you." 

Kageyama did like how they did earlier and got Hinata down the few steps. 

"I'm allowed to use the elevator so don't worry about me during the day." 

"Just be careful and don't push yourself to hard." Kageyama preached. 

"Alright. I'll see you later."

Hinata wheeled of inside the main school buildings and to the elevator. 

As he traveled down the hall, he felt the stares of all the people. 

He finally got to his first class and as soon as he got through the door all eyes went to him and the questions soon followed. 

It was going to be a long day.


	18. Chapter 18

The day went by slow for Hinata. It was still better than being stuck in a hospital bed all day. 

His headaches varied in pain throughout the day and at moments he felt extremely weak. 

The teachers would check on him throughout the lesson to make sure he was okay. 

Hinata sat on the sidelines as he watched the team practice. 

He wanted to go out there and play with them but he knew was was going to be impossible at the moment. 

He felt the heat in the gym and he wanted to take off the beanie so much but he knew that the team would stare at him. 

Kiyoko must had seen how uncomfortable Hinata was and walked up to him. 

"Do you need some fresh air?" She asked. 

"Yeah. It's really hot in here too."

Kiyoko had a questioned look on her face. It wasn't too hot but Hinata still had on his school uniform as well as the beanie. 

She ran over to Yachi and told her that she was going to bring Hinata outside. 

Kiyoko did what Kageyama had done to get Hinata in and out of the gym. 

She pushed him around outside not to far from the gym. 

"Kiyoko, can I admit something?" Hinata asked. 

"Go for it Hinata. It's just us two out here."

"I'm honestly really scared. I'm trying to fight it but on the night after my first chemo treatment my body basically reacted violently. That's all they would tell me but I don't remember it."

Kiyoko listened to the cries of Hinata.

"I don't want to die." Tears started to flow down Hinata's face. 

The crisp autumn wind blew in the air and caused Hinata to shiver a little. 

A car pulled into the parking lot near the gym. It was Mrs. Kageyama's car. 

She got out the car and walked to Hinata and Kiyoko. 

"Shoyo, is practice over?" She asked. 

"No. It's not. I just needed some fresh air."

"How was your headaches?" 

"I had to go to the nurse a few times to rest." That was all that needed to be said. 

"I'll write it down later. Dr. Nick should hear about that."

Hinata felt like he was back in a cage. He was attached to a chain to cancer, a wheelchair, chemo, and everything related. 

He wanted out of it. 

"Well we can head over to the store right now and Tobio can walk back home like he normally does."

Hinata nodded. "Yea that'll work. Kiyoko can you tell Daichi and Kageyama?"

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yea." Kiyoko walked back to the gym. 

Hinata wheeled over to the back seat knowing it would be easier and safer to get him in and out the car. 

The process of getting him in the car went on like normal and happened as fast as it normally does. 

Mrs. Kageyama got back into the car and started to drive to the nearest store.

She parked in an available handicap parking spot near the front of the store and helped him get out out the vehicle. 

He was still in his school uniform but his book bag was removed from his wheelchair. 

"Let's go find you some more hats to wear. I know the beanie can get a little annoying."

The beanie was the only thing he had since he didn't really wear hats in the first place. 

She pushed the chair into the store and they went straight to the hat section. 

Hinata tried on many different hats. Some funny, some weird, and others for everyday wear. 

He mostly picked out more beanies since they were soft on his head and the easiest to have on. 

The shopping trip concluded and they soon left the store and went to go pick up Natsu from her school. 

The elementary schools got out way later than the high schools. 

Hinata rolled down the window and looked for his little sister. 

It was easy to pick her out because of her bright orange hair like his once was. 

"Natsu!" He somewhat yelled. 

Natsu looked around to see who was calling her name and say Hinata in the back seat of the car. 

"Shoyo!" She tan to the car and opened the door. She climbed in and hugged him. 

"Natsu! Leave your brother alone. He had a long day today," Mrs. Kageyama told her. 

"Sorry." She climbed over her brother to her car seat and Hinata closed the sliding door. 

Natsu told her brother about her day at school and told him all the new things that she had learned that day. 

Hinata listened and enjoyed spending the time with his sister in the back seat. 

"Your mom is going to come over for dinner tonight. She's going to sleep on the couch and head to her job in the morning."

The Hinata siblings faces lit up hearing the good news. 

"Mom is coming," Hinata told himself. He smiled at the thought. 

——

"Hey guys," a voice said walking through the front door. Hinata, Natsu, and Kageyama were all watching tv in the living room. 

"Mommy!" Natsu said seeing her mother at the entrance of the house. 

Hinata wheeled over to his mom following Natsu. 

Mrs. Hinata bent down and hugged her daughter but when she saw the beanie on her son's head she went wide eyed. 

"It came out already?" She asked. 

"I shaved it 2 days ago when I was still there." Mrs. Hinata gave her son a warm hug. It was like she was trying to protect him from the dangers of the world. 

She let go of him and stood back up to her normal height. 

"Tobio tell your mom I'm here." 

"Yes ma'am."

Once everyone gathered around and told each other about the day they sat down and ate dinner. 

They all washed up for the night and went the their rooms. 

Hinata looked up to the fan trying to fall asleep. His current headache wasn't to bad but it was the aches all over his body that were keeping him awake. 

He may have not realized it but the day took a toll on his body. He was tired but not sleepy. 

His fear of the nightmare coming back also scared him. 

He closed his eyes and trying to think of all the positive things in his life and soon was able to fall into a calm slumber.


	19. Chapter 19

2 weeks had passed and everything seemed to happen routinely for Hinata; wake up, get dressed, take medication, go watch morning practice, class for school, afternoon practice, go home, and sleep because he was exhausted by the end of the day. 

He was getting more tired after each day but he simply shrugged it off. 

His headaches had been the same throughout the 2 weeks. Some would be dull and not bother him while others caused him extreme pain. 

It was now the day of his second MRI to see if the chemo had made any progress. 

Kageyama was pushing Hinata into the hospital with Kageyama's mother. 

They were able to miss school and practice for the day to bring Hinata to the hospital. 

Kageyama pushed a Hinata to the waiting room on the 5th floor as his mother spoke with the nurse that was in charge. 

"I hate it here," Hinata said. 

Kageyama shot Hinata a look. "Why's that?"

"Because every time I'm here it reminds me that I have a chance of dying."

"Everyone has to die at some point," Kageyama tried to cheer him up. 

Hinata sighed. "True but most don't have to deal with cancer at 16." 

Kageyama wanted to cheer his friend up but didn't really know how to. 

The two sat in silence until Kageyama's mom came sit with them. 

"So I talked to the nurse," she started as she sat down across from the boys. "They are going to do blood work and put you in a room after the MRI. The results for it should only take 2 or so hours to come out."

"Great another day stuck in a hospital bed," Hinata mumbled. 

He wasn't his usual happy bubbly self. After spending a month strait in the hospital, it brought down his spirit and made him depressed in a way. 

They waited about 30 minutes until Dr. Nick came from behind the closed door that lead to the back. 

"Hey Shoyo, how your feeling?" He asked cheerfully. 

"Tired." Hinata said truthfully. 

Dr. Nick's cheerful expression quickly dropped. 

"Let's get you set up for the MRI," he said. "You two are welcomed to stay here. I'll send a nurse once he's set up in a room, after the MRI."

The doctor went behind the wheelchair and started to push the chair to the back. 

Hinata was changed into a hospital gown before anything else.

Another doctor came in and started to talk to Nick. 

"Still gets extreme headaches as I was told. Seems tired and even said that he was tired. Help me lift him to the machine." Dr. Nick told the other doctor. 

"Is it okay if I fall asleep during it?" Hinata asked as they put him on the bed part of the machine. 

"Try to stay awake but if you do it's okay."

Hinata started to move into the machine just wanting it to be over with already. 

—-

Hinata was finally out of the machine and back in his wheelchair. 

"Go set him up in a room and get the people that's here with him after, they are in the waiting room," Dr. Nick told the other doctor. 

He nodded and started to push Hinata to a room. 

The doctor lifted Hinata onto the bed and started to run blood work. 

A couple minutes later the doctor left with what he needed leaving Hinata all alone in the room. 

"This brings back memories," he said to himself. 

"I bet it does, but this time I am here!" He heard a familiar voice say. Hinata turned his head and saw Zen standing near the door. 

"Zen!" Hinata said having his energy rise. 

"What's up dude? It's been a while," he said walking over to him. 

"You know, cancer." Hinata tried to joke. "What are you doing here?"

"I came volunteer here for a week and I heard that a cancer patient was getting an MRI today. Once I heard them say the name Shoyo I knew it was you."

Hinata was happy to be able to see his friend again. 

"I see that you lost the hair."

Hinata brought his hand to his beanie. "Yeah. I lost it about 2 weeks ago."

The two caught up until a knock at the door sounded. 

"Hinata, they finally let us come in," Kageyama said walking in. 

"Tobio, someone is there," his mother elbowed him. "Our apologizes."

"No problem ma'am. I'm a volunteer here that met Shoyo here, in Tokyo," Zen introduced himself. 

"Oh. I'm Tobio Kageyama and this is my mother." Kageyama introduced themselves. 

"The names Zen." As soon as he finished introducing himself, his radio he had on sounded. 

"Zen come to the observation room."

"Well, duty calls. Bye Shoyo good to see you again man. How about next time it's not in the hospital?" 

Hinata laughed. "I would like that. See ya."

Zen said his goodbyes and left the room. 

"He got me through the aftermath of the attack. He got me through my first chemo treatment too." 

"I'm glad to see someone here is looking after you," Kageyama's mom said. 

"I can't wait till we can go home. I know that these people are keeping my alive but I hate it here." 

—-

A hour had passed and the tension in the air was as sharp as a knife. Hinata was becoming uneasy. 

He felt like when the doctor was going to come in, the whole world was going to crash onto him. 

Kageyama's leg was bouncing with anxiety. He could feel the stress from Hinata and it was effecting him as well. 

Kageyama's mother in the other hand had been in her phone reading the news of some sorts to distract her. 

The ticking of the clock in the room seemed to be as loud as a bell. 

Each second felt like an eternity.

"This is taking forever," Hinata said clearly annoyed. 

"I'm sure they'll be coming any second, Shoyo," Kageyama's mother tried to be optimistic. 

A knock sounded at the door. Hinata sighed in relief as the door opened to revel the doctor, but his usual cheerful attitude was replaced with something different, and not a good different. 

"Doctor, are you okay?" Hinata asked seeing his cheerful doctor depressed. 

The doctor mumbled something but it wasn't audible for the rest of the people in the room. 

"Doctor Nick, what was that?" Hinata asked. 

"It's not working," he said. "The cancer, it's growing still."


	20. Chapter 20

"I'm sorry, what?" Hinata said not believing in what the doctor was telling them. 

"When comparing the results to when you first came, the tumor has grew and not by a small amount either." 

The room fell to silence. Kageyama's mother had slow tears falling down her face. 

Kageyama was staring at the floor trying to process what he had just heard. 

Hinata didn't know how to react. All of his hopes of beating cancer where crushed. He wanted to cry out. 

"So, what's going to happen?" Hinata spoke. 

The doctor sighed. "The chemo isn't working like it's supposed to. We can stop the treatments and you can live out your life but when it gets to a certain point you'll have to come back here," the doctor explained. 

"How much worse will it get?" 

"Your mobility is going to be very limited. Your speech may be affected as well. Everyone is different so I can't really go into detail about anything else."

The room fell back into silence. 

"Can we leave now?" Hinata asked. 

"Yes. You can."

The doctors as about to walk out when something stopped him. 

"How long?" 

Those two words spoke by Hinata was words that he had never wanted to say. 

The doctor sighed. 

"Less than a year for sure. A couple months. I can't pinpoint exactly how many."

"Thank you. Can Zen come in before we leave?" 

"Of course Shoyo," with that the doctor walked out. 

That's when Hinata broke down. 

He was crying so much he could create another ocean in the world. 

It seemed like he was the only person in the room. 

Kageyama waked over to Hinata and gave him a hug. 

He didn't know what else to do. No words can comfort Hinata so actions were the only option. 

"I'm going to... just like he did," Hinata spoke through his tears. 

He was talking about his father. 

"It's okay Hinata. You'll be okay," Kageyama spoke still hugging Hinata. 

Hinata pulled himself more into Kageyama and cried into him. 

Kageyama rubbed circles in Hinata's back trying to calm him down. 

This went on for a few minutes until the door opened again. 

"Hinata, he told me." The voice spoke. Zen walked to Hinata and joined in the hug. 

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I want to go to volleyball practice," Hinata said finally calmed down. 

The two boys let go of Hinata. 

"What do you mean?" Kageyama questioned. 

"I want to play a game, even if it's from my wheelchair. I want to play." 

"I'll talk to the captain, but-"

"No! I want to go to today's practice. I want to play a practice match. I don't care how but I want to play." Hinata cut off.

"Mom would we make it to today's practice?" Kageyama turned to his mom.

She looked to her watch. "Yeah. We can."

"I'll go get your normal clothes from the parents belongings room," Zen said running out the room. 

"I want to live each day to the fullest since he doesn't know how long." 

"Are you going to go to school still?" 

"I want to to be part of the team so yes," Hinata replied. 

The door slammed opened. "Sorry, but I got your clothes." Zen said holding up a bag. 

"I'll go into the hall," Kageyama's mother said getting out her chair. 

"Alright then, Kageyama your helping?" Zen asked. 

"Yeah, I've been doing it for two weeks now."

They changed Hinata out of the hospital gown and into his normal clothes then lifted him into his wheelchair. 

"I have to go check other patients but I'll try to volunteer here more often. I like hanging out with you Shoyo. We should get together outside of the hospital atmosphere." Zen said taking his phone out his pocket giving it to Hinata. 

Hinata put his number in and returned the phone. "I'll talk to you later Zen," Hinata gave a forced smile. It was easy to see past it and see how broken he was. 

"Let's go Hinata. Schools almost over," Kageyama said starting to push Hinata. 

"Bye Zen," Hinata said. 

"See ya."

—-

The car ride to the high school was quite. 

No one wanted to talk about the limited time Hinata had left. 

"At least my hair is going to come back," Hinata softly said. 

"Why's that, Shoyo?" Kageyama's mother asked. 

"If the chemo isn't working what's the point in doing them." The two in the front seats didn't reply not knowing what to say in return. 

A few short minutes later they arrived at Karasuno high school. The sun was setting but the gym doors were still open. 

"I'll go run in. Hinata are you sure you want to tell them?" Kageyama asked the boy. 

"It's better to tell them now then when I'm on deaths doorway."

"Not funny." 

The car parked as close to the gym as possible and Kageyama jumped out. 

Hinata watched as he sprinted into the gym. 

He wished he could run like that again. 

He looked down at his legs and poked them with his index finger. He didn't know why he did it but part of him wished he could at least feel the pressure of his finger on his thigh. 

"Look honey, they are coming outside," Kageyama's mother said rolling down the back seat window. 

Hinata looked up to see everyone walking towards the car. He tried to fight back the tears. 

He wanted to be with them, playing volleyball. He didn't want to be stuck in a wheelchair feeling helpless needing other people to do daily tasks. He wanted to live his life like normal. 

Both of his hands made fists. He couldn't face the team but he knew he had to. 

"Hinata, Kageyama told us there's something you need to tell us," Daichi said standing outside the car with the rest of the team including the managers. 

Hinata looked at the team. They noticed that his eyes were becoming red and puffy. 

"I can't do this." Hinata said finally breaking down. 

Kageyama opened the car door and hugged Hinata. 

"You can do this. You need to do this," Kageyama whispered into Hinata's ear. 

Kageyama backed away from Hinata who was still crying. 

"The treatment isn't working," Hinata spoke. 

Gasps sounded throughout the whole team. Even the team's saltiest member, Tuski, gasps. He would never admit it but he cared for the short middle blocker. 

"The doctor said that I have less than a year, he doesn't know for sure how many months." Hinata went back to crying but the whole team was crying with them. 

They didn't want to accept the harsh reality. They couldn't accept that their fellow team mate, who they saw as family, had a limit amount of time left.


	21. Chapter 21

A week had passed since Hinata found out about his limit time. 

He decide to continue school and not tell anyone else about the MRI results. He didn't want his classmates to treat him differently. 

After school he would hold onto a volleyball. During the practice he would bump the ball to himself. 

He still wanted to play a practice match but how would be the question. It's not like he would be able to zoom from one side of the court to the other. How would he jump to spike?

He caught the ball and put in back into his lap. 

He watched as the team was playing a practice game vs each other. 

Hinata felt out of place watching them. 

Hinata wheeled himself to the two mangers who were handling the score board. 

"Can I?" He asked. 

The girls understood that he wanted to change the score for a team. 

"Would you be able to reach?" Yachi asked. 

Hinata lifted his arm. It was above the board. "I think I can," he said with a smile. 

Hinata was slowly getting his smile back. 

—-

"That's game!" Daichi yelled as the final score was 25-20. 

"We'll get you next time," Suga said to Daichi, "the B team will win one day."

The team laughed hearing the two have a mini argument. 

Hinata wheeled over to Daichi. 

"Daichi can I talk to you?" Hinata asked. 

"Sure thing, what's up?"

Hinata gave a motion to follow him as he wheeled outside. The team had put a ramp for Hinata to get in and out the gym by himself. 

Once the two were outside, Hinata started to talk. 

"I want to play a practice match before, I um..." Hinata didn't want to finish the sentence. 

Daichi caught on and thought. "I see why but it's going to be hard. We would need to figure out a way for you to play as well as who would be willing to play."

"Can we ask Nekoma?" Hinata suggested. 

"I'll talk to the coach and Kuroo." Hinata leaned forward almost falling out the chair and gave Daichi a hug. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Hinata!" Daichi shouted catching him. 

Hinata started to laugh. "Sorry captain. I got excited," Hinata game a bright smile. 

Daichi smiled back knowing that it was a real smile. 

Daichi put Hinata back into the chair making sure he would fall out again. 

"Thanks," Hinata said. Wheeling himself back into the gym. 

Daichi was still smiling seeing how happy Hinata was. It was the first time he's seen him that happy since the heartbreaking news. 

Daichi walked back into the gym and went to Suga. 

"I have to make a quick phone call to Nekoma. Make sure no one kills each other."

"I'll try," Suga said with a soft smile. 

"Thanks." Daichi tan to the locker room and got his phone out his bag. 

He found Kuroo's name in his phone and started to call him. 

Two rings later a voice sounded. 

"Hello?"

"Kuroo. It's Daichi."

"No kidding. I have your number saved in my phone."

"My bad."

"How's short stack?"

"Who?"

"Hinata, Daichi. I'm talking about Hinata."

Daichi chuckled. Hinata hasn't told anyone else about his limited time. 

"He's doing okay," Daichi lied. 

"Daichi. I know your lying." 

"Can we meet up somewhere? You, your coach, myself and my coach. I'll explain more then." Daichi said. 

"Okay? I'll talk to him. We actually near Karasuno. Don't ask why." Kuroo told Daichi. 

"Alright. Come to the gym at Karasuno around 6:00." 

"Okay. Let me tell coach. I'll text you in a bit."

"Alright see ya."

"Bye Daichi." 

The phone call ended and Daichi ran to the coach who was talking to the rest of the team. 

"Daichi. Where have you been? It's about time to clean up." He scolded Daichi. 

"I need to talk to you. Kuroo and the Nekoma coach is going to be over at 6:00, but I don't want the rest of the team know yet. Especially Hinata."

Coach Ukai nodded. 

"Alright, time to clean up. Hinata don't push yourself to hard. I don't need you getting sick on us."

"I already am!" Hinata said wheeling over to pick up the volleyballs off the floor. 

"I don't know if he was making a joke with that or not."

"Coach, you asked for it when you told him not to get sick." 

Ukai's eyes widened. "I see it now," he smacked his head.

"I'll go help clean up. Here's my phone," Daichi said handing the phone to the coach. "Kuroo is supposed to text me in a little bit. Just yell when he does."

"Alright but you better tell me why they are coming over. You haven't told me yet."

"I will. It's something about Hinata. Well he asked me something." Daichi started. 

"And. What did he asked?" He questioned. 

"Kageyama think fast!" Hinata's voice echoed throughout the gym. 

Hinata was holding onto a volleyball and threw it at Kageyama. 

Hinata laughed as it hit him. "That hurt!" Kageyama said angrily. 

Hinata laughed as he finished picking up the balls in the floor. 

"At least he still has strength in his arms. That's good," Daichi smiled. 

"Yeah. I can agree with that," Ukai smiled with Daichi. 

"I'm going help out now,"

"Wait! You didn't tell me why they are coming yet."

"I'll tell you after," Daichi said Turing to the rest of the team. "I'll clean the floor!"

Ukai rolled his eyes but smiled. He trusted Daichi and knew why he was chosen as the captain of the team, but he couldn't help to wonder what Hinata asked for.


	22. Chapter 22

The gym was spotless and most of the team had left and went home. 

Daichi and Ukai watched as Kageyama lifted Hinata into the back seat of the car. 

They noticed how easily he lifted him. 

"I can tell Hinata is losing weight," Daichi said to Ukai. 

"I bet his legs are like twigs."

Daichi nodded in agreement. 

Hinata would wear pants all the time so no one could see his legs. They only person who really knew was Kageyama. 

They watched as the car pulled away with both of the boys in the car. They saw it leave the school and then they walked back in the gym. 

"I'll text Kuroo to let them know that they can come now."

"Okay but you still never told me why they are coming," Ukai told Daichi. 

"Sorry coach but can you wait till the other two get here?" Ukai gave up and just nodded. 

Daichi smiled as he pulled out his phone. 

'You guys can come now' he sent to Kuroo. 

Once the text sent almost immediately after he got a text in return, 'We almost there'

Ukai and Daichi talked about strategies as they waited. 

It was a few minutes a bus had pulled into the school parking lot near the gym. 

"Looks like the whole team is here," Daichi said. 

They watched as everyone unloaded from the bus and walked over to the gym. 

"Thanks for coming," Daichi said welcoming Nekoma. 

"No problem. We all care about orange and want to do anything to help." The Nekoma coach replied.

"How is Shoyo? He doesn't really reply to my texts anymore," Kenma said quietly. 

Daichi and Ukai stiffened. 

Kuroo noticed the change in the two. "What's wrong with Hinata?" He asked. 

Daichi was going to have to tell them. 

"How much do you guys know?" He asked. 

"That he's out the hospital. That's pretty much it." Kenma replied. 

Daichi took a deep breath. 

"Honestly, he's not doing to great. He went get a MRI last week and the results weren't good." Gasps were heard throughout the Nekoma team. 

"From what I can understand, the chemo treatments weren't working. His cancer grew."

"Does that mean..." Kuroo started to say but he didn't want to finish the statement. 

"Yes. The doctor told him he had less than a year to live." Daichi finished. 

"No," Kenma said looking down. It was the hospital room all over again. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't. 

The Nekoma team had tears in their eyes. They were there for his fall and now this. They didn't want it to be true. 

"Today he asked me something," Daichi said hoping to lighten the mood. 

"I'm guessing it's the reason you called us here," Kuroo spoke through the tears. 

"Yes. He wanted to play at least one more time before he can't anymore."

"How in the world is he going to play?" The Nekoma coach asked shocked at the request. 

"I don't know yet but he wanted to play against you guys." Ukai was shocked at Hinata's request. 

His mind started to think of any possible ways that he could play with the boys and make it fair. 

Then it hit him. He had an idea. 

"What if we lover the net by a lot and have everyone play in wheelchairs. We would have to change and make our own rules but we can make it fair for him." Ukai said. 

Everyone loved the idea. 

"That's a great idea young Ukai." The Nekoma coach said hitting his back. 

The movement was unexpected and made Ukai jump. 

"Thanks." He smiled. 

"Okay then I guess that's set in place but the real question is when." Kuroo said. 

"It has to be soon. We don't know when he's going to go down and not come back up," Daichi said. 

"How about next week on our day off of school?" Kenma said. 

The whole team was shocked. 

"Kenma your willing to give up a day off and not play video games!? I'm so proud," Kuroo said making him happy seeing that Kenma would do something other than play video games. 

"Yea, but only for Shoyo." 

Kuroo smiled. "So next Wednesday?" The Nekoma coach asked. 

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ukai agreed. "We can have it here in case something happens the hospital is not to far."

"No one tell Hinata. Let's surprise him." Daichi mentioned. 

"I can't wait to see his face when he sees everything," Kuroo pictured the future situation. 

"Don't jinx anything Kuroo," Kenma warned. 

"I'll try not to."

"He jinxed it."

"Kenma, have more hope in me." Kuroo pleaded. 

"No." Kenma pulled his game out his team jacket and started to play it. 

"And we lost him." Kuroo sighed in defeat. 

"I can steal hear you." Kuroo caught a chill. Everyone else laughed at the event that had occurred right in front of them. 

"So, next Wednesday in the morning, this gym. Everyone understand?" Daichi concluded. 

"Yep." Everyone else said in unison. 

"Why is Nekma here?" A strange voice asked. 

Everyone turned to the door and saw Kageyama standing there. 

"Kageyama! What are you doing here?" Daichi asked. 

"Hinata forgot his extra beanie in the locker room," Kageyama said with a straight face. "I'm going to ask again, why is Nekoma here?""

"Is it just you?" Ukai asked. 

"Yea. Didn't want to load Hinata back in the car so my mom just brought me."

Everyone let out the breath they were holding. 

"We're going to have a practice match the Hinata can play in. Don't tell him," Kuroo told Kageyama. 

Kageyama's usual stone cold face lit with joy. 

"Kid. Are you okay?" Ukai was concerned seeing Kageyama smile. It was a rare thing to see. 

"Yea. I'm fine. It's just at the hospital playing a practice match was all he would talk about after we got the news." Kageyama looked up to Nekoma. 

"We know." Kuroo answered knowing he was going to ask about Hinata's limited time left. 

"Anyway I'm going get the beanie." Kageyama walked towards the locker room. 

"We should get going before it gets to late." The Nekoma coach said. 

"Yeah. Don't want you guys to get home to late." Daichi spoke. "Thank you for doing this for us." 

"No problem. We are thankful that Hinata wanted to play us." Kuroo replied. 

"Alright boys load the bus," their coach said. 

Everyone started to walk back the bus. Kenma however was still playing his game. 

"Kenma. I'm going to take away your game if you don't get on the bus!" Kuroo raised his voice. 

"You do that and I'll hurt you." Kenma said putting the game into his jacket pocket and walked to the bus. 

Kuroo sighed as he followed Kenma on the bus. 

"We'll see you guys Wednesday morning." The coach said leaving the gym. 

"Till then," Ukai said waving goodbye. 

The bus left leaving Ukai and Daichi left in the gym. 

"I got the beanie. Couldn't find it for a second." Kageyama said scaring the two. 

"Not going to lie I forgot you came back," Daichi laughed. 

The other two joined in and laughed as they closed up the gym and went home.


	23. Chapter 23

Wednesday morning 

Hinata woke up from his slumber. Kageyama was shaking him waking him up. 

"Hinata. Wake up. We need to go somewhere," Kageyama said still trying to wake up. 

"Don't we have off today? Let me sleep," he complained. 

"Coach called for an emergency practice today for the tournament coming up in next month." Kageyama explained. 

Hinata sat up. He was face to face with Kageyama causing him to blush a little. 

"What's the point if I go? I'm not going to be able to play."

Kageyama frowned. He could just imagine what was going through Hinata's mind. 

He got that thought out his head and looked forward to the day ahead of them. 

"Hinata can you please just come today."

Hinata sighed. 

"Fine. Can you bring my chair?" Hinata said. 

Kageyama smiled. He got off the bed and dragged the wheelchair towards Hinata. 

"Thanks." Kageyama's lifted Hinata into the chair and helped him get ready. 

"Kageyama. Can I show you something?" Hinata asked. 

Kageyama looked over to Hinata. "What is it?"

"Just, look." With that Hinata reached fir his black beanie and pulled it off. Small orange hair was visible.

Kageyama dropped the clothes that were in his hand. 

"Since I decided to stop doing the chemo treatments, it started to grow back. It's probably one of the only things to get back to normal." 

Kageyama walked over to Hinata. He didn't know what to say so he used actions instead. 

He hugged Hinata. Hinata blushed and hugged him back. 

The two separated and both smiled while Hinata was still a little red. 

An idea then hit Kageyama. 

"Can I see your phone real quick?" 

"Uh...sure." Hinata grabbed his phone off the charger and gave it to Kageyama. 

"Sorry about dropping your clothes but put something on. I'll come help out in a few."

He ran out the room. Hinata watched Kageyama leave with a questionable look. 

He shrugged it off and went to get his clothes for the day. 

Meanwhile, in the hall Kageyama was searching for a name on Hinata's phone, Zen. 

Once he found it he clicked on the name and it started to call him. 

"Shoyo?" A voice sounded through the phone. 

"Not really. It's Tobio Kageyama. I was Hinata's friend that was with him."

"Oh. Hey man. Wait, is Shoyo okay? Do we need to bring him in?" He asked panicked. 

"Slow your roll. It last minute I know but can you go over the Karasuno high school today? The volleyball team is surprising him with something and it'll be nice if you can come."

The other side of the line was quite.

"I'll call Dr. Nick. He'll understand. When do I need to be there?" 

Kageyama pulled out his phone to check the time it was 7:30 and they had to be at the gym at 9:30. 

"Can you get there in a hour? I'll bring food for lunch."

"Okay. I'll see you guys there."

"Thanks Zen."

"No problem."

The phone call ended and Kageyama walked back into the room. 

Hinata had on a plain white t-shirt and jogging pants. 

"I was able to get my pants on by myself." Hinata slightly smiled. 

Kageyama smiled in return. 

"Let's go eat some breakfast. We have to be at the gym in 2 hours."

"2 HOURS! Kageyama we could have slept in more." Hinata complained. 

Kageyama laughed a little.

"Shut up. We need to run to the store before we go over to the gym." Kageyama explained. 

The truth was, Kageyama couldn't sleep. He was actually looking forward to the unique practice match. He just decided to wake Hinata up. 

Hinata rolled his eyes. "Fine what ever." Hinata started to push himself out of the room leaving Kageyama. 

"Hey, wait up!" Kageyama jogged after the boy. 

——

The boys were in the car heading over to the gym from the store. 

Kageyama claimed that he needed new knee pads for the day, which he lied, but now he had new knee pads. 

Kageyama was actually driving with his mother in the passenger seat. 

"Tobio, I know I'm going to die soon but can it not be today?" Hinata laughed in the back seat making fun of his friend's poor driving skills. 

"What did you say you d-"

"Tobio! Eyes on the road!" His mother yelled at him. 

Hinata couldn't help but laugh. 

Kageyama gave a small smile hearing the laughs of Hinata. 'At least he seems happy.' He thought.

Hinata watched as the outdoor scenery passed by quickly. He imagined himself running, feeling the wind in his face and his feet making contact with the hard ground. 

He closed his eyes to keep the image in his head. Hinata knew that he was in a type of depression. He couldn't help be feel like it. 

He sighed opening his eyes to see that they were at the gym already. 

"Tobio, you can pull into that handicap parking spot." Kageyama's mother directed him. 

Kageyama nodded as he slowly drove through the empty lot. 

Kageyama pulled into the parking spot and put the car in park. 

"That was stressful," he said letting out the breath he had in. 

"You'll get used to it. You just need to get out your comfort zone. You'll never get better if you never do it." His mother told him. 

Hinata looked out the window and noticed a bus on the other side of the gym parking lot. 

It wasn't the school's, so Hinata was confused. 

Kageyama had turned off the car and was getting the wheelchair out the back. 

Kageyama mother in the other hand, was switching over to the driver's seat. 

"I have to run some errands, just call me if you guys need anything. I put you guys lunch in Tobio's backpack." 

"Okay and thank you."

Hinata pushed open the door and noticed Kageyama standing there. 

They did the usual and put Hinata into the chair. 

Hinata was about to push himself but Kageyama grabbed the back handle of the chair. 

"Don't go in yet."

"Why?" Hinata asked. 

"Because I said so." 

"That makes me want to go even more, you know." 

Hinata gave an evil smirk. Kageyama stared down the boy. 

He still had to grab his volleyball bag that was still in the car. 

He quickly let go of the wheelchair but before he had time to grab the bag and grab Hinata it was to late. 

Hinata learned how fast he could go in the chair and once Kageyama let go, he zoomed away from the car. 

"Hinata! Slow down!" Kageyama yelled trying to catch up to Hinata. 

"Never!" Hinata laughed. 

He kept going till he got to the stairs, but the ramp was gone. 

He knew he wasn't able to get up on his on so he had to wait for Kageyama. 

"What did I tell you?" Kageyama scolded as he he finally got to Hinata. 

"They took away the ramp."

Kageyama looked down to the stairs and saw that it was removed. 

"Stay here I'll go get it from inside."

"Okay. Hurry up though."

Kageyama walked up the stairs and opened the closed gym doors. 

He quickly walked in without opening the doors to wide. 

"Is everyone here?" He asked. 

He looked around and saw all of the Nekoma team, the whole Karasuno team, as well as Zen awkwardly standing there. 

"I'll let him in now." 

He grabbed the ramp and walked back outside. 

He placed it on the stairs and helped push Hinata up. 

"Thank you Kageyama," he said looking up towards him. 

When he looked back down he saw the net lowered to the ground like a tennis net, a 6 wheelchairs on each side of the court. 

"Surprise!" Everyone in the gym shouted. 

If Hinata was standig he would have fell to his knees. He realized all this was done for him. 

"I guess I will be able to see you play." Zen said to Hinata. He couldn't help but smile and and the same time let a few tears fall. 

"Thank you." He let out wiping the tears away. 

"Now, let's go over the rules," Ukai said softly tossing a volleyball to Hinata. 

"Game on." He replied with an eager smile.


	24. Chapter 24

Zen was standing with the Karasuno managers not knowing where else to be. 

Both teams huddled around Ukai and sat on the floor waiting for him to explain the rules to the unusual set up. 

Hinata towered over everyone having him in the wheelchair and not on the floor with everyone else. 

"Look guys I'm actually taller than you all," he laughed.

Everyone let out a small laugh as Ukai cleared his throat to get the boys attention. 

"Sorry." They all said turning their focus to the coaches. 

"Alright. There's still going to be 6 on each side. The same rules will apply. However, the ball will be allowed to bounce 1 time. If it hits the ground twice then it will be the other team's point." Ukai explained. 

"And to make this interesting everyone is playing in wheelchairs." The Nekoma coach said with an evil grin.

Everyone had knew about playing in wheelchairs so they didn't understand why the Nekoma coach said it in such an evil way. 

Hinata had a smile on his face though. He was going to be able to play. He looked towards Daichi and Daichi looked at him. 

Hinata mouthed the words "thank you," and all Daichi did in return was smile. 

"Alright, we are not going to be too strict on rules but we will be keeping score." Ukai said. 

Hinata looked like he was about to jump out of the chair he was that excited. Ukai noticed this and knew he better start the practice match before Hinata would blow up. 

"Your name is Zen, right?" Ukai asked the boy standing near the girls. 

"Yes sir, I'm a friend of Shoyo. I volunteer at the hospital where he stayed." Zen explained who he was. 

"Make sure orange here is not over working himself. He's going to want to play the whole game but his health comes first." Ukai instructed. 

"Hey!" Hinata said being slightly offended. 

"Am I lying?" Ukai raised an eyebrow. 

"No sir," he sluggishly let out. 

Zen laughed a little at Hinata and how he replied. 

"I'll keep an eye on him."

Ukai gave a smile to the boy. 

"Okay now. Everyone get to your spots. Nekoma is serving first." Ukai said. 

Everyone got off from the floor and went to their normal spots for when they were playing in a actual game. 

Hinata noticed how some of the guys were having trouble moving with the wheels. 

Kenma, for example was small and would need to work a little more than he usually did to get to the ball and set it for his team mates. 

"It's okay if you guys are not good at being in a wheelchair, the longer your in it, the easier it becomes," Hinata said. 

Everyone nodded thanking him. 

"So for safety reasons were are going to be using a beach ball. We have a tournament in a couple weeks and I don't need anyone with broken bones." Ukai said getting the ball out the closet. 

"Yes sir!" Everyone said.

"Hinata!" Daichi shouted to get his attention. 

Hinata turned himself around in the chair. "Yes?"

"Take off the beanie. We don't want you to over heat." Hinata's eyes widened. 

He slowly brought his hand up to the hat on his head. 

He removed it and heard gasps. 

Kageyama was the only one who didn't. 

Hinata wheeled himself to Zen and gave him the hat. 

"Hold this for me please." 

"I see your hair is growing back," Zen smiled.

"Yeah." Hinata wheeled himself back to his spot and got ready to play. 

Ukai tossed Nekoma the ball.

"Game on!"

——

It was the middle of the first game and the score was 15-16, Nekoma winning. 

All the boys were having fun attempting to play normal volleyball with the handicap of being in a wheelchair. 

Noya, Karasuno's backbone (idk how to spell his position) fell out the chair a few times trying to receive the ball, who would count as Nekoma's point. 

The coaches made it a rule that if you fell out the chair it was the other teams point. 

A lot of points were scored because of that rule. 

The only one to not fall out was Hinata. Nobody realized how quick he was in the chair. Yes, he was slower than his normal volleyball self but he was also quite quick in the wheelchair. 

He used a lot of faints and direct spikes downward and earned a few points there. 

Hinata was given times of rest because of the rotation, but Zen still kept an eye on him. 

He couldn't believe what Hinata was doing. He was dying of cancer, but he was still doing what he loved even with a wheelchair. 

This inspired him. He pulled out his phone and did a quick search on what color represented brain cancer. 

It was grey. 

He gave a small smile and walked around the court and to Ukai. 

"Can I speak with you?" He asked. "It can be after the match."

Ukai looked to the Nekoma coach. "Be the ref for a couple minutes." The other coach nodded and the two traded positions. 

"So kid, what do you want?"

"Can we go in your office or outside?" Zen asked. 

"I can grab the club supervisor and we can go in the club room." Ukai walked over to Takeda. 

"We need to go to the club room and you're coming with."

Takeda nodded and walked with them to the club room. 

Once the three got to the room that when zen started to talk. 

"You said that there was a tournament going on in a few weeks that the team is participating in right?" He asked. 

"Yes. It's the National tournament." Takeda said. 

"I have an idea."


	25. Chapter 25

The three walked back to the gym all with smiles on their faces. When they got in the gym they saw Kageyama on the ground and Hinata laughing. 

"Stop laughing at me dummy!" Kageyama yelled. 

"I-I'm s-sorry," he said in between breaths. 

"Do I even want to know what happened?" Ukai asked. 

"Kageyama didn't know he accidentally put the brakes on the wheels and when he went to go forward, well, you can see what happened," Daichi said trying not to laugh. 

The score was 24-20 with Karasuno winning. 

Hinata didn't care about the score or anything else. All that mattered was that he was playing the game he loved most with people that care about him. 

—-

The first game ended with Karasuno winning. 

As everyone on Karasuno started to cheer Zen walked to Hinata. 

Hinata saw him come his way and looked down. 

Zen could see that his face was red, which was a little normal after playing a sport, but Zen didn't want to take any chances. 

"Shoyo, look at me." He commanded. 

Hinata slowly looked up to face Zen. 

His face was redder compared to the other boys. 

"Sit out this game. You need to rest," Zen told him. 

Hinata frowned and gave a set of puppy dog eyes. 

"Not going to work. I have little cousins. I've become immune to those."

Hinata chuckled a little at Zen's response and wheeled himself to the side lines. 

"It's best for him to sit this round out," Zen told Ukai. 

Ukai nodded and put another player in as the started again. 

Zen walked to the bench and sat next to Hinata's chair.

He grabbed a water bottle and handed it to Hinata. 

"Thanks," he softly said. 

"You're welcome." Zen noticed how Hinata was starting to get sad again because he could play. "Just rest for this game and you can play the next one."

Hinata smiled a little and went back to watching the game. 

——

No one fell out the chair during the second game but there will still a bunch of mistakes. 

Nekoma had won the second game.

Hinata looked over at Zen. "Can I?"

Zen saw how his face wasn't as red but Zen didn't want to take any chances. 

"Just don't over work yourself."

Hinata smiled as he zoomed onto the court. 

Zen couldn't help but smile. 

The next game had started and Zen watched each member of Karasuno's team carefully. 

He saw how the boys fought themselves to jump and dig for the ball like normally but they were having fun. 

The beach ball slowly fell into Kageyama's hands and he set the ball. 

The ball then seemed to disappear to then reappear even with Hinata's hand. Hinata then slammed it down to the other side of the court. 

The ball landed making a loud bang. 

"Kageyama! Hinata! No popping the ball!" Daichi yelled at the two. 

"Sorry." 

Zen was in awe. He couldn't believe that a handicap version on Hinata could do that to a ball. Even though it was a beach ball, Zen shivered at the thought of it being a real ball at a real game. 

The game flew by. The score was 25-26 with Karasuno in the lead. 

'One more point and we win, but one more point I probably can't play anymore,' Hinata thought to himself. 

"Hinata, don't think in the future. We are in the middle of a practice match. Are you really going to space out now during the rally that can give us the win." Kageyama said seemingly able to read Hinata's mind. 

"I know but,"

"No but's. Get your head in the game." 

The ball was served over. Kenma was able to get to the ball first and he set it up to one of the wing spikers. 

They then softly hit it back over allowing Noya to get the ball first. Kageyama set it over to Tanaka, their wing spiker, and he hit it over. 

Nekoma were like cats and seemed to be flexible and quick to get it back to their setter. 

When the ball went back to Karasuno, Kageyama got first touch, but it was okay. 

"Hinata!" He shouted. He set the ball like he did at the start of the 3rd game. 

Hinata wanted to jump, but he couldn't. He could never jump for the ball again, but that didn't stop him from raising his arm and let it stretch like a rubber band. 

Everyone watched as his arm seem to grow longer and longer. 

The game finished with the ball being slammed straight down to the other side causing it to pop. 

"What did I say about popping the ball?! Now my little cousin is going to be mad at me," Daichi complained. 

Everyone was laughing except for Hinata. In fact he didn't even hear what Daichi said. 

He looked at his now red hand. It reminded him of his first time he hit Kageyama's set. 

"Shoyo, are you okay?" Kenma asked getting out the chair and walking over the net to Hinata. 

"Yeah, it's just that spike was probably the last one I'll be able to do," he sighed. 

Hinata then felt a hand on top his small amount of hair on his head. 

"Welcome to the small amount of hair club, my dude," Tanaka said trying to lighten the dark aura around Hinata. "So thats what you've been hiding under that hat if yours," he laughed. 

Hinata busted out into laugher. "Totally. One day it's going to get to Kenma's shoulder length hair and it may even get Asahi's length." Kenma tried to disappear from the attention but couldn't cause of Kuroo walking up behind him. 

"You would look like a orange hair version of the chick from that fairy tale." Kuroo said. 

"I think you mean, Rapunzel." Hinata corrected. 

"Do I want to know how you know that?" Kuroo asked. 

The gym doors opened and a little girl with orange hair ran in. 

"Shoyo!!" She yelled as she ran to the court. 

"Oh yeah, I forgot about your little sister," Kuroo said. 

"Did you really forget her nickname for you?" Kenma asked with an evil smile. 

"What?"

"Roster head!" Natsu smiled as she ran to him. "Ew, you're smelly." She said pinching her nose. 

"Natsu stop being mean to the boys," Kageyama's mother said walking into the gym. 

Everyone was laughing, happy including Hinata. 

"Thank you everyone. I'll never forget this."


	26. Chapter 26

Hinata woke up feeling sore in his arms. The volleyball game happened a week ago so he couldn't help but wonder why he was so sore. 

He reached over to grab his phone but when something was wrong. 

He went to grip his phone but he could tell that it wasn't normal. 

He brought his hand back leaving his phone on the bed side table.

He went to put his hand into a fist. He saw how he couldn't get his fingers tucked into his palm. 

"That would explain why I'm sore, I guess," he said to himself. 

He went back and grabbed his phone. He scrolled through his social media to past the time. 

That was until he got a text from Zen.

Do you want to hang out today after your appointment?

Hinata still had to go in for check ups. All the doctors knew that he was dying but they wanted to make sure he was still able to live a somewhat normal life. 

Hinata texted back; I'll have to ask Mrs. Kageyama. 

Kageyama was already at school but Hinata was missing cause of his doctors appointment. 

His phone vibrated. 

Okay, I'll drive you around and bring you home afterwards. I'll see you then. 

Zen was more of a friend than a person he just know as a volunteer at the hospital. Hinata smiled and reached for his chair. 

He mastered being able to get from his chair to bed and back. 

After he was in his chair he wheeled himself to his closet. He pulled out a random t-shirt and decided to go with it. 

He did the same with pants. He couldn't seem to be able to wear shorts again. 

He knew he how his legs looked. They lost most of their muscle and were becoming pale. He shrugged trying to keep the thought out of his head.

He slowly changed into his clothes for the day. Once he was finished he folded and put away his night clothes. 

He wheeled himself out the room and into the kitchen. 

"Good morning Shoyo," Mrs. Kageyama said making a breakfast sandwich. 

"Morning. Zen texted and wanted to know if I could hang out with him after my doctors appointment. He'll be able to drive me everywhere."

"Of course." Mrs. Kageyama didn't want to restrict anything with Hinata and wanted to let him live the rest of his life happily. 

"Thank you!" 

She giggled a little at the sudden boost of energy. "I made you breakfast. Can you eat on the way? We are running a little late."

He nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

Mrs. Kageyama grabbed the small bag with the sandwich in it and gave it to Hinata. 

They walked out the house. While she locked the door, Hinata kept going to the car. 

The two rode to the hospital in silence with the small chewing noises every now and then from Hinata. 

"There's my favorite patient," Dr. Nick said walking into the waiting room to get Hinata. 

"I bet you say that to everyone," Hinata replied. 

Dr. Nick gasped at the comeback, "I do not. How dare you say such a thing." He fake cried. Hinata laughed at the goofy doctor. "There's that smile." 

"I'll wait here Shoyo," Mrs. Kageyama told him. 

"Okay. See you in a little while," Hinata waved as Dr. Nick started to push him to the back. 

"Here's your temporary room that we are going to talk in," Nick explained. 

"Talk?" 

"Yeah. Zen told me about that volleyball game last week. Sounds like it was fun."

"Yeah it was. Me and Kageyama accidentally popped the ball on the last rally," Hinata giggled at the memory. 

"I'm going to choose to believe that." 

"You choose what you want but have have a long list of witnesses that say that I popped it."

Dr. Nick laughed. He had worked with cancer patients before who went through a depression after chemo wasn't working. 

"I hate to disrupt this lovely chat but I need to become doctor Nick and not your friend Nick," he said with a change in attitude. "How are you feeling?"

"I had some soreness in my arms this morning. I think I can't grip things as hard as I could."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Whenever I brought my fist into a fist, it didn't close all the way." Hinata demonstrated by making a fist. 

Like before it was weak and was quite obvious. 

Dr. Nick took Hinata's hand and observed it. He tried moving Hinata's fingers. 

"It seems like the the tumor grew enough to start effecting your hands." He said. "The cancer isn't effecting your speech however. You had a full conversation with me without stuttering or having a hard time saying words, which is a good thing."

Hinata played with his fingers as Dr. Nick talked. 

"So how's the volleyball team doing? You still go to the practices right?" Dr. Nick asked wanting to change the subject. 

"They are doing the best they can without me. I was the decoy and apparently I was good at it. They have the national tournament starting in 2 or 3 weeks." Hinata said with a sight smile. He was proud of the team and that was no lie. 

"Are you planning on going?" 

"I want to do as much as I can for the team even though I can't play. Coach said that he was going to talk to the head of the tournament to see if I can still be on the court with the team. They usually allow just one manager to sit with the coach and club supervisor, but hopefully they make the acceptance."

"Your talkative today, Shoyo," Dr. Nick said. 

"Thanks I guess." 

"That's a very good thing." 

Dr. Nick then got up and preformed a check up to see the progress of the cancer. He wrote them down on his clipboard to compare it to the results from when Hinata first came in. 

"Can you do me a favor Shoyo?" He asked. 

"What's that?"

"Keep using your hands until you can't anymore. Use them as much as possible. When the day comes when you can't seem to push yourself in the chair, tell your guardian to message us."

Hinata knew that the day would come soon. He nodded his head. 

"Good. Also, I'm loving the new hair."

Hinata's hair had grown more since the volleyball game. 

He would still wear his beanie to school, but he wouldn't wear it all the time like before. 

"Thanks," he laughed. 

"Well I'm done here," he said opening the door for Hinata. 

Hinata pushed himself out the room and back towards the waiting room. 

Dr. Nick opened the door again and Hinata wheeled through. 

"I'll see you next time Shoyo." 

"See ya."

Hinata looked to Mrs. Kageyama who was talking to Zen. 

"I'm back," Hinata said going over to the two. 

They both got up. "Bring him back before 7:00. I trust that you'll handle the rest," she told Zen finally. 

"Yes ma'am. I promise."

She smiled and left the room. 

"So are you ready for the day?" Zen asked. 

"As I'll ever be."


	27. Chapter 27

The two boys made their way out the hospital. Zen wanted to push Hinata but he refused to let him. 

"Doctors orders!" Hinata told his friend slightly imitating the doctor. 

Zen laughed as walked over to his car. 

"Here," Hinata said taking out the handicap tag from his small bag on the side of the chair. 

"Thanks. Just stay here, I'll come around with my car. It'll be easier for you to get in," Zen told Hinata. 

"Okay."

Zen jogged into the parking lot making sure to slow down if cars were driving near. 

Hinata took out his phone and started to scroll through social media. 

"Bokuto and Akaashi got together," Hinata said with a smile. He knew how close the two were it was just a matter of time. "I wonder who asked who," he said to himself. 

Hinata laughed at his imagination of Bokuto admitting his feelings to Akaashi. 

"What are you laughing at Hinata?" Zen asked. 

"Ah," Hinata jumped. "You scared me!" Hinata playfully punched Zen's side. 

"Well that's your fault for not paying attention," he stuck his tongue out. 

The two then looked at each other with a straight face and started laughing. 

Once they calmed down Hinata finally said, "Two of my friends got together and I was just imagining who confessed first."

"Depending on their personalities I would laugh as well. Now let's go it's almost noon and I'm getting hungry."

Zen lead Hinata to his car that was now in the handicap parking spot. 

It was low to the ground and was different from the Kageyama's van. 

Zen opened the front passenger door. "Ready?" He asked. Hinata put his phone in between himself and the side of the chair. 

"Ready." Zen lifted him and put him in the front seat. Zen then handed the phone to him and proceeded in putting the wheelchair in the trunk of the car. 

Hinata reached and pulled the door shut and waited for Zen to get in. 

Once he got in he turned to Hinata. "So where you want to eat?"

—-

They ended up eating at some American food chain called McDonald's. They enjoyed the burgers and salty fries. 

"You know I've always wanted to work in the hospital," Zen said dipping his fries in the ketchup. 

"Why's that?" Hinata asked with his face stuffed with food. 

"When I was little, I spent a lot of time with my parents at the hospital. They were both doctors but I know I couldn't handle being a doctor. That's too stressful for me knowing that someone's life would depend on me."

"Then what would you want to do?" 

"Be a nurse. I like to care for people. Nurses can still save lives."

"Go for it then. Nothings stopping you," Hinata said eating the last of his fries. 

"What about you?" Zen asked but immediately regretted it. 

"What do you mean?"

"I-if it wasn't for the cancer, what would you do with your life?" Zen felt guilty for asking. 

"I would play volleyball," Hinata said immediately. 

"But don't you do that for school?"

"Yea, but I would play professionally. I bet one day I could have made it to the Olympics!" Hinata smiled at the fantasy. "There's so much I would want to do but with so limited time, I don't think I can do it all."

Hi again tried to laugh at himself but ended up letting a few tears accidentally slip out. 

"Sorry," he said wiping the tears. 

"No I'm sorry," Zen replied. Hinata started to cry more letting more tears slip out. 

Zen got worried and quickly questioned him, "Look man, I'm really sorry. I'll go get you ice cream."

"It's not that," Hinata let out. "It's just."

"It's just what Hinata?!" Zen was worried. 

"It's just, I got salt from the fries in my eyes. It really hurts but I should be fine."

Zen let out a the breath he had. "Dont scare me like that!" He said. 

"My bad," Hinata said laughing. 

The two finished up and decided to go to the mall after. 

——

People starred at the two boys as they walked through the mall. Mostly at Hinata. 

"Now I know what Kenma feels like," he said trying to hide from all the stares. 

"Kenma's the one with the blonde hair right?"

"Yeah. He grew his hair out to shorten his field of vision and dyed it blonde cause he thought the brown made him stick out." Hinata explained. 

"Interesting."

The went through a lot of stores mostly fooling around. 

"Want to go see a movie?" Hinata asked. 

"Sure, we still have hours until I have to bring you back to your house."

"It's not my house but okay."

Zen got confused by the statement. 

"I'm staying with the Kageyama's cause my mom works so much I barely see her. It was just me and my little sister and she's not even old enough to use a stove."

"So they are your caregivers?"

"Pretty much." 

Zen nodded. 

"Can I please push you just this once. It's the one time I can push a wheelchair as a friend and not a volunteer at the hospital?" Zen begged. 

"Fine!" Hinata finally gave in. 

"Thank you!!" Zen put his two hands on each a handle on the back of the chair. "Hold on!"

Hinata made a questionable face but soon realized what Zen meant. 

Zen started running, while pushing the wheelchair. 

Hinata griped on the arm rest but remembered how his grip wasn't as strong as it used to. 

His eyes widened and just hoped for the best.


	28. Chapter 28

A few weeks later. 

"Nice kill Daichi!" Tanaka said going in for a high five. 

"Thanks Tanaka," he replied. 

Yachi moved the score board number for the A team. The score was 18-16. 

Ukai was being the official for the practice match between the A team and B team.

Takeda was in his office making the last minute arrangements for the trip to Japan. 

Hinata was in the gym watching the team practice. 

His grip was a lot weaker and could barely form a fist on his own. He was still able to hold things but not tightly. 

He wanted to help out in any way but it was unsafe for him to go off and do anything on his own. 

He was able to watch each person carefully. He would make a mental not on each person and where could they improve in. 

He did this the whole time as they practiced. His hair had grew more and he was able to not wear a beanie everywhere anymore. 

It was they last practice before they left to go to nationals. 

They were leaving tomorrow morning to get settled in the hotel by the afternoon. 

Hinata was already packed up for the trip, but Kageyama hadn't even started yet. He was always last minute when packing. 

The practice lasted another half hour before they finally concluded the game. 

The A team won 2 rounds to 1. 

"Get some water and gather around," Ukai told the exhausted boys. 

"Yes sir!" They all said together. 

They walked to the water bottles that were on the bench and started to drink them. 

Hinata weakly tried to push himself out the way but failed. 

"I got you Hinata," Kiyoko said rescuing Hinata from the crowd of boys. 

"Thanks." She pushed Hinata to Ukai and left him next to him. 

"Thanks Kiyoko," Ukai said. She gave a slight bow and went back to Yachi. "So ginger, what you got to say?"

"Tanaka can use his loudness and aggressiveness to his advantage if he can figure it out. He can psychologically mess with his opponents," he mumbled. 

"When in the world did you start using big words?" Kageyama asked shocked. 

"Really Kageyama?" He rolled his eyes. The whole team chuckled at the mini conversation. 

Hinata then started to get his daily headache. They would come and go throughout the day but around the same time everyday, he would get one extremely bad one. 

He looked down at his watch, that he know wore. It was 5:00. 

"Kageyama, get me a water please," Hinata asked opening the side pouch of his wheelchair. 

Kageyama looked at him confused, but then saw the medicine organizer being pulled out from the bag. 

He ran over to the bench and got Hinata's water bottle. 

He was about to toss it over but caught himself before he did. 

He ran back over to Hinata and handed it to him. 

"Thank you." Everyone watched as Hinata opened one of the sections as pulled out his medicine. 

"How are they?" Ukai asked concerned. 

"Getting worse." 

Everyone held in a breath. It has been a while since the whole chain of events started but it still felt unreal. 

"Stop looking at me like I'm going to die tomorrow. I plan on being alive when you guys win Nationals!" He said with a smile. 

Everyone cheered up instantly, but they all kept that thought of him dying in their head. 

Ukai, on the other hand, knew that they weren't going to win nationals. Hinata was a major weapon to the team and with him out there was not a lot of hope for them to win. 

"Anyway, I'm going to keep this short and sweet, be here by 9:00 am. If your late then we are leaving you here. We should get there by the afternoon. Hinata tell you mom and guardian that the hotel is one of the closest ones to the hospital, just in case."

Hinata nodded. 

"Now get a good nights rest and I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Everyone broke out the huddle and moved on to cleaning the gym. 

Kiyoko walked over to Hinata to keep him company. 

She noticed a small grey bracelet around his wrist and grey ribbon on the handles. She never realized it beforehand. 

"Hinata, what's all the grey for?" She asked. 

"I learned that different types of cancers are represented by different colors. Like breast cancer has the color pink. Brain cancer has the color grey." He explained. 

It then clicked in her mind Zen's plan. She had forgot about it but Hinata explaining the colors reminded her. 

"That's interesting Hinata. I never knew that." 

"Well we learn something new everyday if we are willing to." She laughed at Hinata's poetic self. 

He joined in the laughing. 

"Watch this," he whispered to her. "Kageyama, if you don't hurry up I'm going to wheel myself to the car and leave you here!"

"You need me to push you and put you in the car remember!" He yelled back. 

"Kiyoko can do that to dummy." Hinata mouthed the word, 'sorry' to her. 

Kageyama couldn't come up with a comeback and went back to sweeping in defeat. 

"Damn Kageyama, Hinata got you good," Tanaka laughed. 

"Shut up."

It took a few minutes until the whole gym was cleaned up and back to how it was before practice. 

"See you guys tomorrow," Kageyama said walking over to Hinata. 

"See ya," everyone else said. 

"I'll take him now Kiyoko," he told her. 

"Okay."

Kageyama grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and started to push him out the door. 

The ramp they had put in really helped getting Hinata in and out of the gym. 

They walked to the car that was waiting for them in the parking lot. 

Kageyama opened the back seat door. "Hi mom," he said starting the process of putting Hinata in the car. 

"Hi boys."

Once they all got settled and in the car they made their way back home. 

"Tobio, don't you have to pack still?" Hinata asked knowing the answer already. 

"Tobio, don't tell me you waited till last minute to pack, again!" His mother hated whenever he did that. 

"Your dead Hinata," he mumbled. His mother elbowed him for using that choice of words. 

"Not yet, Tobio, not yet."


	29. Chapter 29

"Shoyo, are you sure you can't stay here?" Natsu asked tugging her brother's long sleeve shirt. 

"Natsu, I may be sick but I'm still part of the team," he explained. 

She gave a small pout to her brother. "Natsu can you go get Tobio. We need to leave in a little bit."

"Okay!" She started to run to his room letting her orange curls bounce. 

"So the trip is only going to be a few days at most correct?" She asked Hinata. 

"Yep. The hotel is near the hospital just in case."

"You took your morning medicine right?" 

"Sure did. I even have my organizer in my side bag. I should be fine," he said. 

"I know I'm acting like your mother, but I see you as my child since this all started," she explained. "Tobio even likes you."

"I mean, we wouldn't be friends if he didn't like me."

Mrs. Kageyama mentality slapped her head. Could they not see that they had a crush on each other. Hinata would blush a little every time Kageyama had to help him and Kageyama would mumble about Hinata. 

"You two are so oblivious." 

"Uhhhh."

"Mom, I'm ready," Kageyama was being dragged by Natsu. 

Hinata and Mrs. Kageyama laughed when they saw Natsu holding Tobio's hand, dragging him basically.

"Shoyo's bags are in the car already because he packed a long time ago, unlike someone," she hinted. 

"It's not my fault," Kageyama tried to defend himself. 

"I'm going to ignore what you said. I'll go get your bags, go put Shoyo in the car."

"Yes mom." 

Hinata tried to fight the urge to laugh at Kageyama. 

"Why does my mom compare me to you?" Kageyama admitted. 

"Don't know, but it's kinda funny," Hinata giggled. 

Kageyama shot him a look and Hinata quickly stopped laughing. 

"Let's go."

Kageyama walked around to the handles and began to push Hinata outside. 

Kageyama put him in the car while his mom came out and put Kageyama's bags in the back. 

"Natsu come get in your car seat," Mrs. Kageyama told the young girl. 

"Okay!" Natsu opened the car door and climb into her car seat. 

"Tobio, your driving."

"Yes ma'am." Kageyama learned not to fight back with his mother. 

He climbed into the drivers seat and with that they left the house. 

—-

"You two really cutting it close," Daichi told the two boys. 

"It's not my fault that Kageyama drives slow," Hinata let out. 

"You got here safe didn't you?" He shot back. 

"Slow but yes."

"At least your not riding with my sister again," Tanka said. 

That car ride gave the boys a small version of PTSD. 

"That car ride was scarier than the cancer," Hinata shivered. Everyone laughed at the comment. 

The bus was large and had a lower section for luggage. 

"Alright everyone finish putting the bags in the bus, I'll help Hinata," Daichi commanded. 

"Yes sir!"

Daichi walked over to Hinata. "I'm going to pick you up and bring you to the front seat of the bus. I'm going to put your wheelchair at the bottom of the bus so we don't crowd up the aisle."

"Okay let me grab the stuff I need from my bag on here." Hinata slowly grabbed his headphones, phone, and medicine. 

"Give this to Kageyama. He knows all the times I need to take certain pills." He handed Daichi his medicine. 

Daichi ran over to Kageyama and told him to hold it for Hinata. He nodded knowing what he had to do with it. 

Daichi ran back to Hinata and lifted him up. Daichi felt how light Hinata was for the first time. He could feel how thin his legs were and how small he was. He had lost all the muscle that he gained from playing volleyball. 

Daichi shock the thought out his mind and carried Hinata into the bus to the seat. 

"Kageyama's going to sit next to you still." 

"Okay." 

Daichi got off the bus leaving Hinata the only one on the bus. 

He watched Daichi fold the chair and put in under the bus from the window. 

Ukai walked on the bus and to the drivers seat. 

"Coach, you can drive a bus like this?" Hinata asked. 

"Yeah. I can drive a lot of things on a public road. You just need the right type of license." He smirked.

Hinata listened to Ukai tell a short story of the time he had to drive his family's tractor but Hinata had zoned out. 

The rest of the team boarded the bus followed by Takeda.

"Okay boys, we are going straight to the hotel. The opening ceremonies will be tomorrow morning before the matches. Understood?" Takeda said making sure everyone knew the plan. 

"Yes sir!"

Everyone sat down in their seats and Ukai started the bus. 

"Let's go to Tokyo!"


	30. Chapter 30

It was the following day and the sun wasn't even up yet. 

Almost everyone was sleeping. Everyone but Hinata. He had woken up from a nightmare. 

He kept seeing his father, but not the happy memories. 

He kept seeing his father's last moments. His thin orange hair covered his head, a oxygen mask coving his nose and mouth, and the endless number of tubes and wires analyzing his heartbeat and other things. 

Hinata could remember exactly what his father's final words were, be the best big brother to your sister.

But the dream was different. It was just Hinata in the room with his father. His father was in the hospital bed but he wasn't connected to anything. 

In the dream, Hinata was still sitting in the wheelchair. They were in a normal hospital room but the windows only view was a bright white light. 

"It's almost time, my son," his father said. 

Hinata bolted awake after that. His head was hurting. He tried to move his arms but each felt like a ton of bricks. 

"N-No," he peeped out. He shocked himself. When did he start stuttering? "Ka-Kageyama," he said trying to wake him up. 

"What do you want Hinata?" He groaned, slowly waking up. 

"N-Nightmare. Arms are b-bricks," he started to cry. 

Kageyama went to fully awake understanding what Hinata was trying to say. 

"Daichi, wake up," Kageyama woke the captain up. 

"What is the meaning of this?" He groaned. 

"Get Hinata's headache medicine. I need to make a call," he explained. 

Kageyama had showed Daichi all the different medicines in case the night before. 

Kageyama grabbed his phone and ran to the hall.

It was only 6:30 in the morning, but Kageyama was panicked. 

He quickly called the hospital back at their hometown. 

"Hello, this is the Miyagi hospital. How May I help you?" The lady answered .

"I need to speak with Dr. Nick. The patient's name is Shoyo Hinata." He said with the sound of him panicking. 

Ukai walked out of his room into the hall. 

"What's going on?" 

"Hinata." Ukai quickly ran into the room with the rest of the team. 

"Dr. Nick here," a voice said over the phone. 

"Dr. Nick, it's Kageyama."

"What's wrong my boy? I can hear it in your voice."

"It's Hinata. He woke me up saying his arms felt like bricks. He's also stuttering," Kageyama explained. 

"Does he have a headache?" 

"Yes." 

The call went silent. "You boys are in Tokyo right?" He asked. 

"Yes. Do we have to bring him to the hospital?" 

"Slow your roll son. Get your coach on the line too. An adult should hear this."

"Okay give me a second."

Kageyama opened the door. 

Hinata was still crying while everyone that was now awake trying to help him. "Coach, the doctor wants to speak to you." 

Ukai got up and walked into the hall and closed the door. 

Kageyama put the phone on speaker so they would both be able to listen. 

"Dr. Nick, our coach is here and you are on speaker," Kageyama's said. 

"Okay good. Tell me did Shoyo have a nightmare of some sorts?" 

"Yeah." Kageyama answered. 

"He explained it a little while you were out here," Ukai spoke up. 

"Can you tell me what he said?"

"Something about his dad. How he was in a hospital bed saying, 'it's almost time'" 

The two heard Nick sigh. "He probably has a few weeks or week left."

They both held in a breath. "No," Kageyama mumbled. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't. 

"I know about the plan that Zen came up with. I don't want Shoyo to miss it. Zen actually went back to Tokyo the other day. I can call him and send him. I'll make Zen make the call whether to send him to the hospital or not."

"Okay." They both said. 

"I'll call his mother and Mrs. Kageyama. I'll give Zen your number as well."

"Thank you, Dr. Nick."

"Anything. Now go spend what time you can with him, but don't tel him about how long he got left. He's probably going through a panic. We don't want him to get in an anxiety attack."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay then. Call if it gets really bad before Zen gets there."

"Okay. Thank you. Bye"

"Bye."

The call ended. Kageyama broke down. 

He cried like never before. He crumbled to the ground having the tears flowing heavily. 

"He's going to- and I can't-." He choked out. 

Ukai got to the ground and put his hand firmly on Kageyama's shoulder. 

"Listen kid, we knew this day was going to come. It was just a matter of time."

"I know, it's just it still hurts."

Kageyama did something rare and hugged Ukai. Both weren't really huggers but they made the acceptation. 

Ukai let Kageyama cry it out. It was the best way to comfort him. 

A few minutes later Kageyama finally backed away. His face was red, eyes puffy and his cheeks were tear soaked. 

"Thank you," Kageyama said quietly.

Ukai couldn't imagine how Kageyama was feeling. His closest friend was at the brink of death and he couldn't do anything about it. 

"Let's get back in there. Hinata was still panicking when I came out here," Ukai said. 

Kageyama wiped away the remaining tears that were on his face. 

"Yeah, that's a good idea. You know how he is," Kageyama tried making a joke to make him feel better ultimately failed. 

The two of them got off the ground and walked back into the room. 

Hinata was leaning against Suga's chest fast alseep. 

"He cried himself back to sleep after taking the pills Daichi gave him," Suga whispered. 

"Zen's coming over to be his portable doctor for the tournament. He's going to make the calls if he has to go to the hospital or not," Kageyama let out trying not to cry again. 

Everyone saw how red Kageyama's face was from crying. 

They just kept quiet and waited. No one was going to be able to fall back to sleep and their first match was in a couple hours.


	31. Chapter 31

Hinata woke up still leaning on Suga. 

"S-Sorry Suga," he let out embarrassed.

"Don't be Hinata."

"Morning Shoyo," Zen said putting himself in Hinata's view. 

"Zen. W-what a-re you do-doing here?" He asked with his new stutter. 

"Doctor Nick told me to come. I'm going to be your personal travel doctor for the time being!" Zen said hyping himself up. 

Hinata let out a small laugh. Hinata looked around and everyone was there awake. Even the coach and teacher sponsor. 

"Opening ceremonies start in 2 hours and we have to be there in a hour and a half. Let's get ready," Ukai said with a smile knowing the plan that had been set. 

"Yes sir!" Everyone's said at once. 

"I'll help Shoyo change so don't worry about him today Kageyama," Zen assured him. 

Suga handed off Hinata to Zen. 

"This is going to be a little weird but with what they told me you can't really lift your arms right?" Hinata nodded not wanting to stutter again.

Zen asked Daichi what to change Hinata into. Once Daichi told him, he went straight to Hinata's bag. He pulled out Hinata's black jersey. 

"Shoyo, do you want the shorts from the jersey or your sweatpants?"

"Sweatpants," he managed to say without stuttering. Zen gave a soft smile. He grabbed the sweatpants and closed the bag. 

"I'm going to do your shirt first," he said. Zen gently removed Hinata's sleep shirt and put the jersey on him. 

"Zen, here's his jacket," Kageyama tossed a black jacket that read Karasuno boys volleyball club. 

"Thanks." He put that around Hinata and pulled his arms through, zipping it up in the front. "I'm going to lift you into your chair. Okay?" 

Hinata nodded. Zen was able to lift him up and put him into the chair. He noticed how light he was compared to the last time he had to move him.

He quickly changed his pants and got him into his sweatpants. 

"I brought something for the team. You guys mind?" Zen asked the team. 

Daichi knowing what it was already nodded. 

From Zen's back that he had brought he pulled out a box full of grey ribbons. 

"W-what's that Zen?" Hinata asked. 

"It's grey ribbons for everyone to wear. My mom and I made them into pins so everyone would be able to wear them," Zen explained taking them and handing them out to everyone. 

Everyone took a ribbon and pined them to their jackets. 

Zen took one and put it on Hinata's jacket. 

He saw the grey ribbon on his wrist and gave a small smile. 

"Did you take your morning medication?" Zen asked. 

Hinata shook his head no. 

"Kageyama get Shoyo's medicine." Kageyama tossed the small container to Zen. "Thanks."

He got out the ones labeled for the morning. "Someone grab a water." He commanded. His inner nurse was coming out. 

Daichi grabbed a water and gave it to Zen. "Shoyo, I want you to open your mouth. It's goibn to be like taking them normally but I'm going to be your hands," he explained. 

Hinata nodded and opened his mouth. Everyone just stood and tried not to stare at them but couldn't help it. 

Once they finished, Zen grabbed the empty bag he had brought and put in Hinata's medicine, the water, and any other things he though he may need to care for him while they were at the gymnasium.

"Everyone ready?" Ukai asked putting the ribbon on his jacket. 

"Yes sir!" 

"Now let's go get some breakfast before be go to the gym. Don't overfill yourselves. I mean it," he warned. 

———

After they all ate they wen to the gym. The had to wait in the lobby with the other teams that made it to nationals. 

"Daichi," Zen whispered to him. 

"Suga, take Hinata for a second. I have to talk to Zen." Suga came and grabbed the wheelchair from them and walked away. 

"What is it Zen?" He asked. 

"The deal was that I would speak, but that means I can't walk Shoyo in. One of you have to do it," Zen let out. 

"Easy fix. Don't worry about it. Your plan is going to work. He's going to love it. I promise," Daichi assured. 

"Thanks."

Zen ran to inside the gym to go to where he was needed. He trusted the third years to watch over Hinata for the time being. 

Daichi walked back to the team. "W-Where's Ze-n?" Hinata asked. 

"Don't worry about it. He just had to go to the rest room," Daichi lied. 

While waiting, Nekoma came up to the boys followed by Bokuto and Akaashi. 

"Hey, Hey, Hey, little man. What's with the chair?" Bokuto asked not being aware of Hinata's cancer. 

"Bokuto, a word," Kuroo pulled him aside taking him away from his boyfriend. 

"He's clueless," Akaashi rolled his eyes. 

"How are you feeling Sho?" Kenma asked so quiet you could barely hear a word. 

"N-N Not to-o go-od," he struggled to get out. 

Everyone looked shocked at the way Hinata spoke with a stutter. 

"Kenma, could I talk to you alone for a second?" Kageyama asked. Kageyama didn't really get along with other team's setter but Kenma knew that creepy Kageyama was going to say something about Hinata. 

The two walked away from the others. 

"He only has a week or so left," he let out bluntly. 

"I'm sorry, what?" Kenma asked not wanting to believe it. 

"He had a major attack this morning. He kept seeing his dead father in his dreams and he can't really move his arms and you see how he's talking," he rambled. 

"Kageyama..." the two just stood there. 

"Don't tell him anything. The doctor thinks it's best not to tell him. We have Zen here. Your team got the call right?" 

"Yep." Kenma said showing the grey shoelaces on his shoes. 

"They asked if the teams could wear something grey in honor of a sick player. They didn't get into who it was or anything."

"Okay. Thank you," Kageyama's smiled. 

"Anything for Sho."

"Can I have your attention will the teams now gather together and line up in the order we announce in!" A lady said symbolizing the start of the opening ceremony. 

The two have a slight nod and tan back to their teams. 

This was going to be a day to remember and not just for the teams there, but especially Hinata.


	32. Chapter 32

The boys had to stand in number order when waking into the gym, but the Karasuno had the exception. 

They were in number order but Hinata was in the front of the line. Daichi would push Hinata while Suga held the sign saying what prefecture they were representing. 

The loud announcer introduced all the teams, both boys and girls. 

"Wh-where's Zen?" Hinata asked Daichi. 

"You'll see," was all he replied. 

"Representing the Miyagi prefecture boys, Karasuno high," the announcement boomed. 

The boys started to walk in. All eyes where on them as the walked into the court with pride. Most of the eyes where on the small orange haired boy in the wheelchair in the front of the line. All of the teams knew what was going on but no one in the audience knew about Hinata. 

They marched to their spot on the court and stood there waiting for the remaining teams to come out. 

Hinata felt weird being in the front of everyone, but he could feel the rush of jumping to spike the ball making the game winning point. 

He wanted to play volleyball. He didn't want to be stuck in a chair. He didn't want to have that dream last night. He didn't want to have an attack that morning. He wanted to be able to speak and move normally, but he knew he couldn't. He just had to settle for this. 

Being front stage on the gym floor looking to the crowd, with all the other competitors. He wished he would be able to play them all. 

"These are your competitors for this year's National championship," the announcer concluded. 

The sounds of people clapping flooded the gym. Hinata imagined himself winning the final game and all that applause would be for him. Yes it was greedy, but he wish he could actually earn it. 

"Now a word from a medical member for an important announcement."

Zen walked to the court with a microphone at hand. Hinata looked at him confused. 

Zen turned to face the way all the players were facing and began his speech. 

"Good morning everyone. My name is Zen and I'm a volunteer at the local hospital training to become a nurse one day. A couple of months ago, Karasuno high's number ten, Shoyo Hinata, became ill. It was discovered that he had a cancerous brain tumor that would affect his mobility and speech." Zen paused and looked back to Hinata. 

"Doctors predicted that he only had a few months to live but they couldn't be for sure about it due to factors. Shoyo Hinata creates friendships that seem impossible, but his bright sunshine personality would be able to brighten anyone. A couple of weeks ago, each team received a phone call or email asking for something. The color grey represents awareness for brain cancer. So we asked if everyone could wear something grey during their matches to show awareness for Hinata."

"Look at everyone's shoelaces," Daichi whispered to Hinata. 

He looked to the floor at all the teams feet. He saw the grey shoelaces intertwined in everyone's shoes. 

Hinata was shocked. Did his team really do this for him? When did they do this?

"I know that it seems unusual to do this for him and that there are other cancer patients that don't get this treatment but to the Miyagi prefecture as well as teams in Tokyo, he is loved and cared about. So I'll ask that you spread awareness that can kill many. For the rest of the tournament, wear grey for first year, Karasuno's number 10, Shoyo Hinata. Thank you and good luck to everyone." Zen concluded his speech. 

Hinata was at a lost of words. He couldn't believe what just happened. He started to cry but since he couldn't move his arms to hide his face, everyone was able to see the water droplets on his face crashing into his lap. Daichi put his hand on his should comforting him. 

With that the teams where dismissed and were able to go stretch before going to their first matches of the tournament. 

While the team was stretching, Hinata watched and processed what happened earlier. 

"So how was that surprise?" Zen asked going up to Hinata. 

"T-Thank yo-ou." He smiled. 

Zen gave a hug to Hinata. "No problem man. I may be your fake nurse, but I'm still your friend."

Hinata struggled to pick his arms up but eventually hugged Zen back. 

"So when are you going to tell Kageyama about your crush on him?" Zen whispered. 

"Zen!" He said without stuttering. 

"Come on Sho, you still have a life," Zen told him. 

"Ye-s, bu-t th-at also me-ans I-I hav-e anx-iety," he shot back. 

"Make you a deal, you tell him after the tournament. Win or lose. That way if you guys win, it'll be icing on the cake, but if you guys lose, it'll be a remedy to the sting of defeat," Zen said dramatically. 

Hinata laughed at Zen making a fool of himself in the middle of stretching. Zen then joined in on the laughing. 

"What are you two laughing about?" Daichi asked. 

"Shoyo's love life," Zen said with a blank face. 

"Zen!" 

"Uh. I'm not going to ask about it," Daichi said turning back to the team. 

Everyone was stretched and was ready to warm up for their first game. 

"We are going to be playing a school called Tsubakihara on one of the main courts. No matter how difficult the opponent is, we will fight and claw our way to the top. Now let's go win this!" Daichi proudly said motivating his teammates. 

"Yeah!"

The moved proudly marched onto the court. As the captains met with one o there to do captain work the rest of the team warmed up. 

Zen pushed Hinata to the bench on Karasuno's side. 

Ukai, Takeda, Kiyoko, and Zen sat next to each other while having Hinata next to them. Yachi had to go with the rest of the Karasuno supporters in the audience. 

Once warm ups where done, Karasuno gathered near Hinata. 

"Hinata. Do you want to do the honors?" Daichi asked him. 

Hinata gave him a smile and let it out. "Ka- Karasuno,"

"Fight!"


	33. Chapter 33

The first match ended in a win for Karasuno. Hinata watched his team shake hands with the opposing team. 

They were fighting back tears knowing that their season had came to an end. 

The truth is, all teams end their season with a loss only one team can end with a win. 

There were only one match for that day and the next day would be more. 

The boys went back to the hotel after finding out who they were going to play next, Inarizaki. 

They went back to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the day. 

Zen would preform physical check ups on Hinata to see if any movements were becoming painful for him. 

Zen knew that he should be brought to the hospital but he couldn't take him out of the tournament just yet. He hoped that the team would do well in the tournament, but at the same time he wish they would lose so they could go back to Miyagi. 

——

The next morning, they matched back into the gym wearing their bright orange jerseys. 

"Hinata would really look like a tangerine if he had to wear these," Suga joked. 

Hinata laughed with the rest of the team but Zen could see how much pain he was in. 

"Ukai, a word," Zen said walking away from Hinata. 

"What is it Zen?" Ukai asked. "The match is about to start."

"He has to go to the hospital after today's match, win or lose."

"What?"

"I can see how much pain he's in. If you guys win, he's going to be sent to the hospital in Tokyo and transfered, but if you guys lose then he'll be able to ride back but needs to go immediately to the hospital." Zen explained. 

Ukai let out a breath. "He really doesn't have a lot of time," he chuckled, finding a way to ease his emotions. 

"Yes. Good luck on the game Coach." 

"Thanks." The two went back to the bench and watched the match unfold. 

The match seemed to drag on but Karasuno ended up winning. Everyone cheered as the celebrated going to the next round. 

"Hinata! We are playing Nekoma next!" Kageyama said surprisingly excited. 

"Th-at's ni-ice," Hinata let out.

Kageyama noticed the developing pain in his voice. He felt his heart break even more than it already was. 

"Zen," Kageyama said. As if he was able to read minds, Zen just nodded. 

"Wh-at's wr-rong Ka-ge-yama?" Hinata asked. 

"Nothing. Let's just go sit down and prepare for the next match of the day."

"Shoyo and I are going to go eat lunch," Zen told the team. "He gets embarrassed having to be fed," he whispered to Daichi. 

Zen pushed Hinata to the cafeteria part of the gymnasium and went to an empty table in the corner. 

"Th-anks." 

Zen just smiled and took out both of their lunches from his backpack. 

——

"Round 3: Nekoma high vs Karasuno high!" The announcer boomed.

The echo of applause drowned throughout the gym. 

Daichi and Kuroo walked to each other and did the coin toss to see who would serve first. "Finally. An official cats vs crows match," Kuroo said shaking Daichi's hand. 

"Indeed." 

Nekoma won the toss. The rest of the team shook hands. 

"Good luck," they told each other. With that, the most anticipated game started. 

—-

Kenma set the ball to Kuroo for the several time. The ball clashed with Kuroo's hand but was recovered by Noya at the last second. 

If Hinata was able to move around in his chair, he would be at the edge of his seat. 

If Karasuno got this point then they had a chance of winning, but if they lost this point, then Nekoma would win and move on in the tournament. 

Zen looked over to Hinata and saw how much he was into the game. He however was praying that Nekoma would win so Hinata would be able to get to the hospital.

"Tanaka!" Kageyama yelled sending the ball to him. 

The ball was smashed to the other side but Nekoma was able to recover it. 

The ball continued to rally back and forth to both sides. 

All the boys where getting tired but Karasuno knew that this could be the end the their season if the messed up. 

The ball was hit high sending it to Kageyama. 

His brain was in the game on an extreme level. He was no longer the king of the court. He had a team and didn't have to do everything alone. 

Instinct took over and when he was going to set it he yelled something that shocked everyone. "Hinata!"

Nekoma looked at him confused and so did Karasuno. The ball fell to the ground giving the last and final point to Nekoma. 

No one celebrated. The crowd cheered and celebrated for the winning team but no one on Nekoma wanted to celebrate. 

Kageyama felt devastated. He caused them to lose. He made a mistake that cost them the game. 

Kuroo ran to the official for the match. "Let us do this."

He crossed under the net and hugged the Karasuno team. Everyone on Nekoma crossed under the net and joined in. 

Kenma was tired but he ran to Hinata on the bench. 

"Stealing him for a second," he told Zen. 

Kenma pushed the chair to the court and into the large hug. 

No one celebrated. No one wanted to. This game should have had Hinata playing in it. It didn't feel the same. 

Hinata's last normal game was with them. His last time playing volleyball was against them. This was most likely the last game he was going to be able to watch in person.

"I guess we need to formally end the match now," Kuroo said. 

Nekoma ran back to their side of the court. Instead of someone bringing Hinata back to the bench, the brought him with them to the base line of the court. 

"Nekoma vs Karasuno match is now over. Winner: Nekoma!" The official said. 

"Thank you for the game" they all said with a bow. Hinata just lowered his head as a bow.


	34. Chapter 34

The boys went back to the hotel and gathered their belongings. Everyone was crying but the thirds years were the most. 

They had just played the last game of their high school careers. 

Kageyama still felt bad about the last point of the game. 

"I'm sorry," he said zipping his bag moving on to Hinata's. 

"Don't be. It was just instinct," Suga said trying to comfort him.

"I still blew it." Everyone stayed quiet packing their things. 

Zen was in the hall talking to Dr. Nick giving him an update on Hinata. 

"He's not doing to good. You can start to hear the pain in his voice," he explained. 

"I think it's smart to send him in now. He's going to be miserable until the end. All we can do is make him comfortable," he replied. 

Zen felt the tear fall down his face and nose get stuffy. 

"Zen, are you crying?" Dr. Nick asked. 

"Now that I think about it, Shoyo was the first person I was a nurse to," he let out. 

"In all seriousness, this is part of the job too. We can always save everyone."

"I know. It just, hard."

"I know. How long is the bus ride?" He asked changing the subject. 

"Five hours."

"Okay, tell the coach to drive straight here. I'll call his family."

"Okay. I'm going to be staying in Tokyo right?" 

"Yes, but you're free to visit him normally."

"Okay. Thanks Dr. Nick. Bye."

"See ya." With that the call ended.

Zen put his phone back into his pocket and wiped the tears off his face. 

He walked over to Ukai's room and knocked on the door. 

Ukai opened the door and saw the small bits of tears on Zen's face. 

"What's wrong Zen?" He asked. 

"Whenever you guys go make home, bring Shoyo straight to the hospital. Doctors orders," he let out. 

"Aren't you coming with us?" He asked. 

Zen sighed. "No. I'm not. My time at Miyagi was temporary. I'll go visit however, if I can."

"The team and short stack would love that," Ukai gave a rare soft smile. 

"I'll go say goodbye to everyone. Have a safe journey back and be careful."

"Okay."

Zen walked away from Ukai and to the players large room. 

The door wasn't locked so he just walked in. Almost everyone was crying or fighting the urge. 

Kageyama was finishing up packing Hinata's bag. 

"Sorry Zen, we all look pretty rough," Daichi chuckled. 

"It's okay. You guys lost at a big event. It's okay to be upset."

The boys grabbed their bags being ready to leave. 

"I'm here to say farewell. I have to stay here in Tokyo," Zen said. "Also, Shoyo had to go straight to the hospital when you guys get back. There's no way of sugar coating it."

Everyone looked shocked and looked at Hinata. They still couldn't believe that he was fine when they got here and now he was just there. 

"Even if you guys won today, he would still have to go. His health is getting concerning," he said hating to say that. "Dr. Nick agrees with me and we think it's best." He looked over to Kageyama when he said that. 

Hinata just looked unfazed. No tears, no signs of sadness, nothing. 

"Shoyo, you're creeping me out. What's with the unfazed reaction?" 

Hinata had connected the dots a while ago. 

"I kn-ow I'm cl-ose to-o dy-ing." That's all he said. He didn't want to say more, but it was enough to let everyone understand that he knew everything. 

"Sho," Zen hugged him tightly. "Don't die yet."

That's when Zen opened the water works. The two had totally forgotten Tver deal they made earlier to each other but it wasn't the time or mood for it. 

"I have to go now," Zen said letting him of Hinata.

Hinata frowned. He wished he could have hugged Zen back. I wished he could do a lot of things, but most of all he wished he didn't have cancer. 

Zen said his goodbyes and walked out the room. 

"We should get going to. It's a five hour drive," Daichi said. 

Everyone agreed and grabbed their things. Kageyama had both his and Hinata's stuff to carry. 

Everyone met downstairs near the bus and waited for Ukai and Takeda. 

The two walked out the hotel and to the group of boys who were strangely quiet. 

"So we'll be going straight to the hospital," Ukai told them. 

"That's what Zen told us," Daichi spoke for the team. 

"I-I kn-ow," Hinata said. 

"I'm going to stay with Hinata at the hospital," Kageyama told them. 

"Okay. Put the bags in. Someone put Hinata in," Ukai commanded. 

"I got him," Kageyama told Daichi. He walked to Hinata. This was the first time he lifted him since Hinata went completely limp. 

"I'll grab your phone and stuff after," he told Hinata. 

All Hinata did was nod in return. 

When Kageyama lifted him, it felt like he was lifting a feather. Hinata was light. Extremely light. He had completely lost all the muscle he had. 

Kageyama put him near the window. "I'm going get your stuff." 

He felt like he was talking to a pet or animal. He knew that Hinata was able to understand him, but he wouldn't reply unless he needed to. 

Kageyama tried to push that thought out his mind and grabbed the important things from the wheelchair's side bag, Hinata's phone, headphones, and medicine. 

"Load the bus guys!" Ukai yelled at them.

They all sluggishly got onto the bus. 

Kageyama sat next to Hinata and pulled out his phone. 

He plugged in his headphones putting music on. He put one in his ear and put the other in Hinata's. 

"W-what?" He asked. 

"Your not just looking out the window the whole ride back. That seems boring."

"P-ull up yo-ur no-tes," Hinata told Kageyama. 

He was confused at first but did like he said and pulled up the notes on his phone. 

Hinata was still able to move his fingers even though his arms were heavy. He slowly typed out the sentence:

You have to clue what boring is until you've spent a month in a hospital room.


End file.
